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Frequency of cervical smear‐tests among patients of general practitioners
Author(s) -
Dickinson James A.,
SansonFisher Robert W.,
Leeder Stephen R.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1988.tb112772.x
Subject(s) - medicine , cervical cancer , cervical screening , test (biology) , public health , gynecology , obstetrics , family medicine , cancer , nursing , paleontology , biology
Eight hundred and thirty‐eight women who attended 36 general practitioners were asked when they had last undergone a cervical smear‐test. Only 6% of women who were between 25 and 54 years of age had never undergone a smear‐test, but in women who were younger and older than this age range the proportion was one‐third. We estimated from this pattern of use of cervical smear‐tests that only 60% of invasive cervical cancer is being prevented, and the major contribution to the remaining risk factors comes from women of over 55 years of age who either have not undergone a smear‐test or had undergone one a long time previously. This information suggests that general practitioners and the public‐health system should be more active in ensuring that all at‐risk women undergo cervical smear‐tests.