Diminishing Rates of Cervical Cancer Screening and Its Reasons Explained!

Screening rates of cervical cancer have dropped in the U.S., with the lowest among Asian and Hispanic women, and those in rural areas as per a study at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston), published today in JAMA Network Open.

The study analyzed nearly 20,557 women to reveal major uptick from 14.4% in 2005 to 23.0% in 2019 in women without an up-to-date cervical cancer screening.

‘Reason behind declining cervical cancer screening rates and the populations most affected has been revealed by a new study.’

The study also revealed major disparities across different sociodemographic groups. Among the most commonly reported reason for not receiving a timely screening was lack of knowledge, ranging from 47.2% of women identifying as LGBQ+ to 64.4% of women with Hispanic ethnicity.

Women among the age group 21 to 29 years old had a significantly higher rate of overdue screening (29.1%) when compared to women aged 30 to 65 years (21.1%) in 2019.

"What this means is that more campaigns about cervical cancer screenings are needed. There would need to be targeted, culturally adapted campaigns for each of these sociodemographic groups," says led by Ryan Suk, PhD, an assistant professor of management, policy, and community health at UTHealth School of Public Health.

Source: Medindia