title: Cervical cancer screening from the public health perspective.
abstract: Many state health departments have a significant role in cervical cancer screening. Given that role, a group of public health personnel from eight southeastern states drafted a set of questions and quality assurance issues to be discussed with a laboratory under consideration as a contract provider of cytology services. The major points of concern included: (1) quality of laboratory services (accreditation, personnel, facilities and operational and quality control procedures); (2) quality of sampling (including techniques used and the training and monitoring of sample takers); (3) terminology for cytology reporting; and (4) protocols used for diagnostic evaluation of abnormal Papanicolaou smears.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Control Program, Georgia Department of Human Resources, Atlanta 30309.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Steiner
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories / Q000592:standards; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000592:standards*; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D011634:Public Health; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D011786:Quality Control; D015144:Southeastern United States; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000592:standards; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000592:standards; D000078329:Workforce