Abstract
Approximately every two hours, a Romanian woman is diagnosed with cervical cancer as the country ranks first in the EU in terms of its mortality rate. This paper aims to identify the main reasons that have led to this situation. First, a study based on secondary data was conducted in order to identify measures taken by the Romanian Ministry of Health for the prevention of this type of cancer. Second, a quantitative study was conducted to evaluate the impact that exposure to information and awareness campaigns has on women’s behavior regarding cervical cancer prevention through screening. The results of the research show an increased percentage of the women understanding the importance of screening and the benefits of early diagnosis, but also shows that a high percentage of women postpone the routine checks due to lack of time and financial resources. The research results also indicate that the only free screening program implemented in Romania during 2012–2017 was a failure due to poor procedures, low number of women tested, underfunding and the lack of promotion. Our conclusion is that the Romanian Ministry of Health has to take immediate action by conducting major awareness campaigns and also by implementing functional screening programs.
Highlights
Every two hours, a Romanian woman is diagnosed with cervical cancer as the country ranks first in the EU in terms of its mortality rate
Considering the high rates of mortality for cervical cancer in Romania, this study investigated the potential causes that have led to this situation
The results of this study indicated that most of the investigated women did not know about the existence of the first national screening program for cervical cancer
Summary
Every two hours, a Romanian woman is diagnosed with cervical cancer as the country ranks first in the EU in terms of its mortality rate. A study based on secondary data was conducted in order to identify measures taken by the Romanian Ministry of Health for the prevention of this type of cancer. A quantitative study was conducted to evaluate the impact that exposure to information and awareness campaigns has on women’s behavior regarding cervical cancer prevention through screening. The research results indicate that the only free screening program implemented in Romania during 2012–2017 was a failure due to poor procedures, low number of women tested, underfunding and the lack of promotion. Our conclusion is that the Romanian Ministry of Health has to take immediate action by conducting major awareness campaigns and by implementing functional screening programs. Nearly 500,000 women develop this type of neoplasia each year, with most occurring in less developed countries where appropriate screening programs are not available [2]. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the leading cause of cervical cancer, even though the risk associated with different HPV types has not been adequately assessed [5]
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