Objective To invesigate the coverage of Pap smear screening among the female in Shanghai and analyze the influencing factors, so as to provide evidence for the cervical cancer screening program.
Methods The data on coverage of Pap smear was collected randomly through questionnaire by home interviews. Influencing factors were identified by single and multiple factors analysis.
Results The study showed that 37.61% of the female in Shanghai had taken pap test, while 32.04% and 42.01% in downtown and suburbs respectively. Among those tested, 86.14% had been tested in last 3 years. Among those tested in last 3 years, 73.50% were tested through gynecological examination organized and paid by their employees. The coverage of Pap test among women younger than 35 years old was 21.97%. The average time interval for the last test among women of 55 to 64 years old was 4.00 years, which was obviously higher than that of women younger than 35 years old and of 35 to 54 years old. The women affected by single factors such as living in suburbs, married, 35 to 54 years old, farmers, screening paid by employees, and well-informed of cervical cancer symptoms and necessity of regular screening, had higher coverage of Pap smear. The factors affecting those tested in last 3 years were age and whether the test paid by their employees.
Conclusion The coverage of Pap smear in Shanghai is comparatively lower than that of developed countries. Pap smear is available to women mainly through the health examination paid by their employees. The coverage is lower among the women younger than 35 years old, while the average time interval is the longest among women of 55 to 64 years old.
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