OBJECTIVES: Cervical cancer prevention is essential to women’s health. Previous studies in developing countries asserted that women’s autonomy is associated with different health outcomes. This study estimated the relationship between women’s autonomy and their knowledge and usage of cervical cancer screening and vaccine.

METHODS: A survey was conducted in two Chinese cities, Wuhan and Shanghai. Married women with at least one child were our objectives. Women’s autonomy was measured by their decision-making authority within the household. Three categories of autonomy were considered: personal and child-related autonomy, economic autonomy, and mobility autonomy. Women’s knowledge and usage of cervical cancer screening, and their knowledge of cervical cancer vaccine were outcome variables of interest. Bivariate probit regressions were employed as the core statistical method to deal with the problem of endogeneity.

RESULTS: CONCLUSIONS: Negative estimate of the personal and child-related autonomy are attributable to lower access to information about the vaccine in China and women’s increased responsibilities within the household. The negative relationship between mobility autonomy and screening knowledge may be attributable to the context dependency for autonomy measures. Education investment is suggested to serve as one of the strategies for women’s health promotion.