Trend analysis of process quality indicators for the Korean National Cervical Cancer Screening Program from 2005 to...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Cancer Screening

Background:

• The Korean National Cancer Screening Program (KNCSP) aims to reduce cervical cancer burden.
• Monitoring quality indicators is crucial for program effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze trends in KNCSP cervical cancer screening quality indicators from 2005 to 2013.
• To assess changes in participation, detection, and accuracy rates.

Main Methods:

• Utilized KNCSP and Korean National Cancer Registry data.
• Estimated key performance measures: participation rate, positive rate, crude detection rate (CDR), interval cancer rate (ICR), positive predictive value (PPV), sensitivity, and specificity.
• Applied Joinpoint analysis to determine annual percentage changes (APCs).

Main Results:

• Participation rates significantly increased (APC=13.4%).
• Positive predictive value (PPV) and specificity improved and stabilized.
• Crude detection rates (CDR) for in situ cancer increased (APC=3.9%), while interval cancer rates (ICR) for invasive cancer decreased (APC=-2.5%).
• Lowest participation observed in Medical Aid recipients and women over 70, who had higher CDRs and ICRs.

Conclusions:

• The KNCSP for cervical cancer demonstrated improvements in participation and screening accuracy.
• The National Quality Improvement Program likely contributed to these positive trends.