Chisinau, 2018 - The study about the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) on the prevention of cervical cancer will be carried out in September, on a sample of 1203 women aged 25 to 61 years throughout the country.

The KAP study aims to understand why women do not carry out the Pap smear screening test, which are the social norms that influence their behavior, but also the issues to be improved at the system level.

Cervical cancer is one of the few oncological diseases that can be prevented by conducting the Pap smear screening test. However, more than 300 new cases of cervical cancer are detected annually in the Republic of Moldova, and every three days a woman dies beacuse of it.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection encourages women and their families to participate actively in the study, which will help the medical system to improve the access and quality of cervical cancer prevention services and to determine the best ways to inform the population.

The KAP study will involve about 30 sociological operators, who will go to rural and urban areas for the data collection. Focus group discussions will also be held with women aged 25-61 years and in-depth interviews with cervical screening service providers and experts will be conducted.

The KAP study is part of the project "Prevention of cervical cancer in the Republic of Moldova", carried out by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection and co-financed by UNFPA, and SDC. The sociological company Magenta Consulting will carry out the quantitative research and data analysis.