title: Understanding the barriers to cervical cancer screening among older women.
abstract: Despite the fact that 90% of cervical cancers can be prevented by regular Pap screening, many women are not screened regularly, particularly older women. To understand better the barriers to screening, the authors held five focus groups during April 2000 in Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada. Of the 32% of women aged 45 to 70 who had not been screened over a 5-year period (1995-2000), 60 randomly selected women participated in this research. The authors analyzed discussions for themes using an inductive approach, with interpretation guided by the population health model. Women who have avoided a Pap test are falling between the cracks created by a complex interaction between personal experiences and the health system's approach to Pap screening.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Social Services, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Van Til
authors.forename: Colleen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: MacQuarrie
authors.forename: Rosemary
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Herbert
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D011325:Prince Edward Island; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*