http://jnep.sciedupress.com Journal of Nursing Education and Practice 2024, Vol. 14, No. 9 ORIGINAL RESEARCH Fear of COVID-19 as mediator in the relationship between at-risk Filipino women’s health belief and intention to have pap smear test Honey Grace T. Romarate-Abella *1,2 , Jonathan D. Cura 1,3 1 School of Nursing and Allied Medical Sciences, Holy Angel University, Angeles City, Philippines 2 Hospital Infection Prevention & Control Unit (HIPCU), OFW Hospital, City of San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines 3 Queen Elizabeth Scholar, McMaster Health Forum, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada Received: February 14, 2024 Accepted: April 28, 2024 Online Published: May 28, 2024 DOI: 10.5430/jnep.v14n9p45 URL: https://doi.org/10.5430/jnep.v14n9p45 ABSTRACT Despite being one of the most preventable and curable types of cancer, cervical cancer still causes death among Filipino women yearly. The pandemic created new obstacles for women to overcome, but some of the obstacles that existed before COVID-19 may now be worsened and will seriously affect women’s self-care management, limiting their access to the necessary procedures needed for the screening of cervical cancer. This study aimed to determine the relationship of at-risk Filipino women’s health beliefs towards their intention to have Pap Smear test and the mediating role of fear of COVID-19. A causal predictive approach was conducted and 572 female Filipino currently residing in the Philippines participated in the study. Data were gathered utilizing the Health Belief Model Scale for Cervical Cancer and the Pap Smear Test and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale with the Intention to Screen assessed by a structured question. With p-values of < .05 which is considered statistically significant in this study, the outcome of the mediation analysis shows that the mediated effect of fear of COVID-19 is not particularly (partial mediation) significant. There is still a significant direct association between health beliefs particularly on the benefits of Pap Smear test and health motivation and barriers to Pap Smear test with the intention to screen even without the presence of fear. In conclusion, the fear of COVID-19 plays a minor effect in the association between Filipino women’s health beliefs and their intention to attend Pap smear testing. Key Words: Health belief model, Cervical cancer, Pap smear test, Fear of covid-19, At-risk Filipino women 1. I NTRODUCTION Cancer is a vast category of diseases that can practically be- gin in any organ or tissue of the body and spread to other or- gans when abnormal cells proliferate uncontrollably, invade adjacent regions of the body, and/or move to other organs (metastasizing) which is a leading cause of cancer-related death. Cancer is also known as a neoplasm or a malignant tumor. [1] It is the second biggest cause of death worldwide, accounting for 9.6 million fatalities in 2018, or one (1) in every six (6) deaths. [2] Cervical cancer (CC) is the 7th most common malignancy in women and the 9th most common cause of death for women of all ages worldwide with Asia having the highest occurrences of new cancer diagnoses and fatalities for both sexes, accounting for 49.3% (9,503,710 of total new cases) and a mortality rate of 58.3% (5,809,431 cases); statistically, breast cancer makes up to the top three * Correspondence: Honey Grace T. Romarate-Abella; Email: hgabella.ofwh@gmail.com; Address: Hospital Infection Prevention & Control Unit (HIPCU), OFW Hospital, City of San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines. Published by Sciedu Press 45