Brief report: Housestaff adherence to cervical cancer screening recommendations

Postgraduate training involves intensive clinical education characterized by long work hours with minimal flexibility. Time demands may be a barrier to obtaining preventive care for housestaff during postgraduate training.

Assess adherence to United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) cervical cancer screening recommendations.

Cross-sectional survey.

Convenience sample of female housestaff at 1 university hospital.

Primary outcomes included (1) adherence to USPSTF recommendations, (2) perception of adherence to recommendations, and (3) barriers to obtaining preventive care.

Surveys were completed by 204 housestaff. Overall, 81% of housestaff were adherent to USPSTF screening recommendations. Housestaff requiring screening in the past year were less likely to be adherent when compared with housestaff requiring screening in the past 3 years. Overall, 84% accurately perceived their screening behavior as adherent or nonadherent (kappa=0.58). Of the 43% who identified a barrier to obtaining preventive care, not having time to schedule or keep appointments was reported most frequently (n=72).

Housestaff accurately perceived their need for cervical cancer screening and were generally adherent to USPSTF recommendations, even though lack of time during postgraduate training was frequently reported as a barrier to obtaining preventive care. However, we found lower adherence among a small subgroup of housestaff at a slightly greater risk for cervical disease and most likely to benefit from screening.