Disparities in Cervical Cancer Screening by Disability Types: a Systematic Review

Previous studies showed that the receipt of cervical cancer screening among women with disabilities is low. Some disparities may also exist within the subpopulation of women with disabilities. This systematic review synthesized the current literature on the receipt of cervical cancer screening by disability type. PubMed, ProQuest, EBSCO, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar searches were performed to identify studies between April 2012 and January 2022. A total of ten studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. All studies employed a cross-sectional approach (n = 10) and most used multivariable logistic regression (n = 7). Two of the ten articles included classified disability types as basic action difficulties and complex activities, while eight of the articles classified it as either hearing, vision, cognitive, mobility, physical, functional, language disability, or autism. The association between disability types and cervical cancer screening was inconsistent across publications. All the studies except for one however indicated that evidence of lower screening rates exists within the subpopulation of women with disability. The available evidence supports the conclusion that disparities in cervical cancer screening are evident in disability subgroups; however, evidence is inconsistent regarding which disability type experiences lower receipt of screening. Screened articles utilized different definitions for disability adding to the inconsistency in the results. More focused research using a standardized definition for disability is required to determine which disability type experiences significant disparities in cervical cancer screening. This review highlights the need for healthcare organizations to target specific tailored interventions to improve the quality of care for specific disability subgroups.