Accuracy of Self-Reported Cervical Screening Status Among Pregnant Women

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Gynecologic Oncology
• Preventive Medicine

Background:

• Pregnancy offers a critical window to enhance cervical screening test (CST) uptake and reduce cervical cancer incidence.
• Cervical screening in Australia is free for eligible women aged 25+ if performed every 5 years.
• Accessing the National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR) is challenging within public antenatal care settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reliability of pregnant women's self-reported last CST year for determining screening needs during pregnancy.
• To assess the accuracy of self-reported CST data compared to official NCSR records.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective study analyzed data from Medicare-eligible women aged 25+ attending public antenatal care in Australia.
• Self-reported last CST dates from maternity databases were compared with NCSR records.
• Data collection occurred between June 1 and November 30, 2023.

Main Results:

• Of 1772 participants, 49% were overdue or never screened for CST.
• Self-reported dates were concordant with NCSR for 80% of women regarding screening needs.
• However, 14% over-reported CST currency, and 6% under-reported, with over-reporting affecting 28% of women due for screening.

Conclusions:

• Reliability of self-reported CST data among Australian women needs improvement.
• Clinicians must ensure women are aware of their CST status.
• Enhanced NCSR accessibility for women and direct communication of results are recommended.