Title: Association between emotional and social support and cervical cancer screening among Mississippi women

Background Mississippi’s age-adjusted cervical cancer mortality is the second highest in the nation (3.4/100,000). Disparities in cervical cancer mortality by race continue to persist in Mississippi. Cervical cancer mortality among non-Hispanic Blacks is higher compared to non-Hispanic Whites (3.7/100,000 vs 3.2/100,000) respectively. Cervical cancer is preventable through routine screening according to the recommended guidelines. Research has shown that emotional and social support may facilitate screening but research is limited regarding Pap test uptake among Mississippi women. This study was conducted to examine the association between emotional and social support and Pap test uptake in Mississippi.

Methods A secondary analysis of data from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System (BRFSS) was conducted. As BRFSS is a complex survey design, data was analyzed using proc survey frequency for categorical variables, and proc survey mean for continuous variables. Proc survey logistic regression was performed to report odds ratios adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics.

Results Findings suggest that emotional and social support is significantly associated with cervical cancer screening (p=0.0013). Non-Hispanic Black women who reported no or limited emotional and social support are disproportionately not being screened for cervical cancer compared to non-Hispanic White women (62.5% vs 47.9%) respectively.

Conclusion Based on preliminary data, among Mississippi women, emotional and social support may be associated with cervical cancer screening. Public health practitioners should focus on interventions that target social support networks that may help increase cervical cancer screening and adherence to the recommended guidelines in Mississippi.

Biography:

Angela A Omondi is affiliated with Jackson State University in the USA.