OBJECTIVES Cervical cancer was the second frequent cancer and the leading cause of death among women in Indonesia. This study sought to examine the perception of seriousness and knowledge of cervical cancer risk and to evaluate the willingness to pay (WTP) for cervical cancer screening among women in Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia.

METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Yogyakarta city and Sleman district of Yogyakarta province. The convenience sampling method was applied to women who visited clinics or pharmacies, during the time period of June to August 2019. A validated instrument was performed, consisted of demographics and socioeconomics characteristics, experiences related to cancer, perceived seriousness of cancer risk, knowledge of cervical cancer, willingness to pay for cervical cancer screening. The association between respondents’ characteristics and willingness to pay was analyzed with a Chi-square test using SPSS 23 version.

RESULTS A complete of 675 women were taking part in this study. The majority of respondents were married women with average age upper than 46 years old. About 17.93% of the respondents having a family history of cancer and 19.85% of the respondents experienced in a pap smear test. The average of respondents perceived the seriousness of cervical cancer and known that cervical cancer can be cured if it is early detected. Most of the respondents (67.11%) were willing to pay for cervical cancer screening. The result of this study revealed that the positive association between respondents’ age, monthly revenue, family history of cancer, having private insurance, having a good knowledge and perception of cancer risk with the willingness to pay for cervical cancer screening.

CONCLUSIONS In summary, the high perception of seriousness and steady knowledge of cervical cancer risk were lead to the willingness to pay for cervical cancer screening.