There is a large amount of ignorance among young women about the smear test, researchers warned today.
A new study has found that many women who do not take up invitations for cervical screening are simply unaware of the testing programme.
Researchers revealed the findings of a study of women who fail to respond to invitations for testing.
The 28% who knew nothing about the programme included many with English as a second language, they report.
Some 15% said they had decided not to do the test – and these tended to be women over the age of 55.
And about 51% said they intended to take the test in the future.
The proportion of women taking smear testing has been declining after a numbers peaked earlier this century following the death of a celebrity, Jade Goody.
Some 3,100 women took part in a survey for University College, London, UK, for the study, reported in the European Journal of Cancer. Among these 790 were overdue for a smear test.
Researcher Dr Jo Waller said: “It’s worrying that so many women don’t know about cervical screening. This study also suggests that many women – particularly younger ones – don’t get round to cervical screening, even when they intend to go.
“The results around lack of awareness suggest that campaigns using TV, radio, social media or face-to-face visits may be better ways of communicating with women about screening than relying on letters in the post, which is the current method.
"And for women who find making an appointment stays on tomorrow’s to-do list, simple steps such as extra reminders, or specific appointment slots for first-time screenings could really make a difference and potentially save lives.”
Sarah Williams, of Cancer Research UK, which backed the research, said: "We may need to be more creative in our efforts to help specific groups of women, rather than resorting to conventional ‘one-size-fits-all’ awareness campaigns."
Marlow L. et al, Understanding the heterogeneity of cervical screening non-participants: data from a national sample of UK women European Journal of Cancer 30 June 2017; doi:10.1016/j.ejca.2017.04.017
Leave a Reply