Is Not That She Is a Bad Person, but Something Is Probably Wrong: An Extended Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (Giuseppe et al. 2008; Dunne et al. 2007). Affecting nearly all people at least once in their life, most of the 150 types of HPV are self-limited, asymptomatic, or unrecognized. Some types of HPV, however, are well recognized for their role in the etiology of cervical cancer (Munoz et al. 2003). Cervical cancer is one of the four most common types of cancer among women worldwide, affecting 528,000 women in 2012 (CDC 2012). Evidence suggests that although HPV testing is clinically effective in monitoring for cervical cancer, women are still reluctant to do it (CDC 2012; Ogilvie et al. 2013). Two important causes of resistance to test for HPV are shame and embarrassment. Considering that, this research aims to extend previous literature and understand which judgments and stereotypes can be acting as barriers to women to do the HPV test.