How complete can cervical screening be? The outcome of a call screening programme for women aged 20-60 years in Perth and Kinross.
In this paper a computer system for cervical screening call and recall based on the Community Health Index (CHI) population data-base is described. It allows the unscreened population to be identified and located on an individual general practice basis. The results of the call programme on 9517 women aged 20-60 years listed on the CHI and with no record of a cervical smear is described. There was a 24% smear uptake in the call programme which meant that after the call programme the total population cover had risen from 71% to 78%. In addition, if women with a valid reason are excluded, and the data-base corrected for women no longer in the area, the true cover rises to 88%. An analysis of the percentage cover in each GP practice is described with the implications for implementation of screening targets for primary care.
Robertson
A J
AJ
Department of Pathology, Perth Royal Infirmary, Scotland.
Reid
G S
GS
Stoker
C A
CA
Bissett
C
C
Waugh
N
N
Fenton
I
I
Rowan
J
J
Halkerston
R
R
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D017010:Reminder Systems; D012606:Scotland / Q000453:epidemiology; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000592:standards*