Abstract:
The purpose of this descriptive cross-sectional study was two-fold. The first purpose was to determine follow up rate among women with abnormal cervical cytology in Southern Thailand. The second purpose was to examine the relationships between age, education, income, perception of abnormal cervical cytology information, anxiety, social support and follow up among women with abnormal cervical cytology. Convenience sampling was used to obtain 120 women with abnormal cervical cytology from five regional hospitals in Southern Thailand. Research instruments included four sets of questionnaires designed to assess womens demographic information, perception of abnormal cervical cytology information, anxiety and social support. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, and point-biserial correlation. Major findings were as follows: 1. Follow up rate among women with abnormal cervical cytology in Southern Thailand was only 66.70% 2. The correlations between education, income, perception of abnormal cervical cytology information, anxiety, social, and follow up among women with abnormal cervical cytology were statistically significant at the level of 0.05 (r[subscript pb]=0.24, 0.20, 0.86,-0.88, and 0.78, respectively). However, the correlation between age and follow up among women with abnormal cervical cytology was not statistically significant (r[subscript pb]=-0.07, p>0.05).