Accuracy of patients' recall of Pap and cholesterol screening.
OBJECTIVE
This study was undertaken in mid-1994 and assessed how accurately patients recall the recency and result of their most recent cholesterol and Papanicolaou (Pap) tests.


METHODS
A cross-sectional, door-to-door community survey was used to gather self-report and, subsequently, pathology laboratory data for 195 individuals.


RESULTS
In regard to cholesterol screening, 30% of individuals who reported being adequately screened were actually inadequately screened, 45% who reported normal cholesterol levels actually had elevated levels, and 21% of inadequately screened individuals and 56% of individuals with elevated levels were not identified by self-report. In terms of Pap screening, 28% of women who reported being adequately screened were actually inadequately screened, 11% of patients who reported a normal Pap test actually had abnormal or inadequate results, and 55% of inadequately screened individuals and 53% of individuals with abnormal or inadequate results were not identified by self-report.


CONCLUSIONS
This study revealed self-report to be a less-than-adequate measure of individuals' recall of cholesterol and Pap screening. Relying exclusively on self-report surveys as indicators of screening coverage is likely to result in significant underestimations of the proportion of people who are inadequately screened or whose results indicate a need for intervention.
Newell
S
S
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Newcastle, Australia.
Girgis
A
A
Sanson-Fisher
R
R
Ireland
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001315:Australia; D015982:Bias; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000523:psychology*; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012423:Rural Health; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000523:psychology*