Knowledge of and attitudes towards family planning and early detection of breast and cervical cancer in two female populations in Greece.

This paper presents the results of surveys of contraceptive use, the frequency of induced abortions, the use of the Papanicolaou smear test and knowledge about the practice of breast self-examination in two female populations, characterized by a different socioeconomic level. There exist similar trends, as well as some remarkable differences between the two populations. Both of these populations included a high proportion of women who had undergone at least one abortion. Withdrawal and condom use were the most common contraceptive methods. About one third of women of the two populations had had a smear Pap-test carried out during the last year. 53.8% of the women in the population I and a 44.8% of the population II stated that they know how to practice breast self-examination.