Cervical cancer screening rates have declined in the U.S., with stark disparities across a number of different sociodemographic groups, according to new research published Tuesday.
The proportion of women not up-to-date on their screening exams jumped from 14% in 2005 to 23% in 2019, experts reported in JAMA Network Open. Rates were lowest among Asian and Hispanic women, those living in rural regions, without insurance or who identify as LGBTQ.
Most women said they were not current on their exams because they lacked proper knowledge, researchers with the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston reported.
“What this means is that more campaigns about cervical cancer screenings are needed,” Ryan Suk, PhD, an assistant professor of management, policy and community health at UTHealth, said in a statement. “There would need to be targeted, culturally adapted campaigns for each of these sociodemographic groups.”
The findings are based on a cross-sectional study of 20,557 women eligible for cervical cancer screening according to the U.S. National Health Survey. The survey data covered 2005 through 2019 and relied on U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recommendations.
Asian and Hispanic women were both more likely to be overdue for screening compared to their non-Hispanic white peers, yet the reasoning differed for each group. Asian and Hispanic individuals cited a lack of knowledge as a barrier, but the former group’s top reasons were a lack of recommendation from a provider and their belief that they did not have a problem. Hispanic women, meanwhile, often did not have access to screening, the survey results showed.
Meanwhile, respondents who identified as heterosexual were more often caught up on their exams compared to LGBTQ individuals (32% vs. 22.2%). And upward of 26% of women residing in rural areas were not up-to-date compared to those living in urban regions (22.6%), the authors noted.
There is a positive takeaway from their findings: The percentage of women who said a lack of access was their primary barrier to undergoing screening dropped from 21.8% to 9.7% between 2005 and 2019 across all age groups.
Still, the authors said more needs to be done to ensure women are up-to-date on their exams.
“Timely cervical cancer screening is a crucial prevention measure of cervical cancer, especially for those who could not benefit from the introduction of HPV vaccine,” Suk said in a statement. “This study emphasizes and reminds us that we need a more inclusive and sustainable approach in the implementation of this evidence-based screening strategy.”
View the full study results here.
Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.