Table 3.

Knowledge and beliefs about HPV and cervical cancer (themes and verbatim).

Themes	Subthemes	Verbatim examples
Knowledge and information regarding HPV and CC	No information	“I came (to FG) to learn about it.”
	Misinformation	“We consume some foods and vegetables which brings us the disease.”
	Some information on:	“Those who are over 30 years old.” “To people who do not have health care insurance.”
		HPV: “It’s because of sexual transmission.”
		“HPV is a virus.”
		“SC is to prevent CC.”
		Follow-up steps in case of HPV+: “You need to consult with the gynecologist to take the methods you have to follow.”
Perceived susceptibility of having HPV and CC	All women are at risk	“As a woman, we are prone to get infected.”
	Sexually active women	“Who has sexual relations.”
		Who has doubts about partner faithfulness: “He infected me.”
		“I have had more than one partner, two . . . some partners. Then I had the intrigue about . . .”
	Personal/family history of gynecological issues	“My mother had uterine cancer at 47 years old and I thought it can happen to me too . . . I can have some issues. I always did the Pap, for that very reason.”
Perceived severity of HPV and CC	No perceived severity	“It was one more checkup.”
	Perceived severity	HPV: “What does the virus come from? Then you say, ‘It is like AIDS’.”
		“For me, it was if HPV is cancer, HPV is death . . .”
		“Cancer is death.”
Evaluation of benefits and barriers	Benefits of Pap	None mentioned.
	Barriers to undergoing Pap	Pap requires time: “You miss a day at work.”
		“You must do it yearly.”
		“I felt shame.” “I felt embarrassed.”
		“Pap is painful, torture.”
		“Some professionals had rude behaviors.”
		“I don’t have time, I have small children and I’m taking care of them. I have no one to leave them with.”
Self-efficacy	To not be able to do SC	“If SC was a positive result, maybe I did wrongly.”
	To be capable to do Pap	“I felt embarrassed, but there is no other way.”
Cues to perform Pap		“My sister had already tested positive, so I wanted to do it.”
		“My gynecologist, in particular, says if you have a good PAP result, other doctors recommend you every three years, but she makes me go every year [to perform Pap].”
		“There are women who for example forget to do medical checkups . . . The CHW is for that . . . they are sometimes for that, they are mostly . . . If you forget to do it, they knock on your door . . .”

HPV: human papillomavirus; CC: cervical cancer; FG: focus groups; SC: self-collection test.