Women in Hume and Whittlesea are putting themselves at greater risk of contracting cervical cancer by not taking a simple test, new screening data shows.
The Victorian Cervical Cytology Registry Statistical Report 2013 shows just over 50 per cent of eligible women in Melbourne’s north had a pap test in 2012-13, well below the state average of 60.4 per cent.
To reduce the risk of developing cervical cancer, national guidelines recommend that women aged 18 to 70 who have been sexually active undergo a pap test every two years.
Despite this, just 53.5 per cent of eligible Hume women were screened in 2012-13, and 55.4 per cent in Whittlesea. It was a slight increase in previous year’s participation results for women in both municipalities.
PapScreen Victoria manager Hiranthi Perera said the latest report painted a worrying picture.
In many cases, she said, women were not aware of the need to screen. “In Hume, it’s a culturally diverse community so women may not be aware [that testing is the best protection against cervical cancer].”
Ms Perera said the awkward nature of the procedure was also a hurdle for many women.
“It’s something a lot of people put to the back of their mind because it’s awkward and embarrassing.”
“But it literally takes a couple of minutes that could save your life. It’s about making it a priority,” Ms Perera said.
Robyn Wallace, who works in disease prevention at Coburg-based Infiniti Health Solutions, points to a number of common barriers to screening experienced by many women and documented in evidence-based studies. These include cultural and language issues, lack of information about pap tests, being busy and forgetting when the next test is due, and barriers associated with having a disability.
Visitors to the PapScreen Victoria website (papscreen.org.au) can enter their postcode to find a list of local cervical screening providers, including information about the number of male or female doctors or gynaecologists, disabled access and spoken languages other than English, among other practical information.
Pap tests are considered part of a standard doctor’s visit and are charged as part of the standard consultation fee for the appointment.
PapScreen Victoria has a list of doctors, clinics and health centres that offer bulk billing, which means no out-of-pocket expenses for women being tested.
