title: Reasons for variation in coverage in the NHS cervical screening programme.
abstract: In order to investigate reasons for variation in coverage of cervical screening, data from standard Department of Health returns were obtained for all Health Authorities for 1998/1999. Approximately 80% of the variation between health authorities is explained by differences in age distribution and area classification. Considerable differences between Health Authority and Office of National Statistics (ONS) population figures in City and Urban (London) areas for the age group 25-29 years and for City (London) for age group 30-34 years, suggest an effect of list inflation in these groups. Coverage as a performance indicator may be more accurately represented using the age range 35-64 years. Using this narrower age range, the percentage of health authorities meeting the 80% 5-year coverage target increases from 87% to 90%.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Screening Evaluation Unit, Institute of Cancer Research, Section of Epidemiology, Sutton, UK.
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: McGahan
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Blanks
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Moss
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012423:Rural Health; D006113:United Kingdom; D014504:Urban Health; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*