OBJECTIVE:

Our primary aim was to detect how much importance is given to pap smear test by the health staff.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

In this study inquiries including questions about age, marital status, occupation, attitude for applying to gynecology polyclinics as well as questions to about their knowledge about and attitude for pap smear test and HPV vaccination were delivered to health staff as well as to a control group which was formed from patients applying to our polyclinics.

RESULTS:

Both of the groups were not applying to gynecologic control without having complaints.There was no significant difference between the groups when the rates of having smear test at least for once were taken into consideration. In this study we detected that smear test was not offered routinely to nearly half of the patients.Those patients who were offered smear test had smear test by significantly higher rates. 91,17% of the women in the study group had heard about HPV vaccination.

DISCUSSION:

The awareness of health staff as well as the non-health staff population about pap smear test is far from enough in Turkey. More than this gynecologists don’t offer smear test to their patients efficiently.This situations may prevent the reduce of cervical malignancies in the near future.

Keywords: Pap smear, health staff, inquiry