Increasing cervical screening in women of more than 40 years of age: an intervention in general practice

An intervention that was aimed at increasing cervical screening in women of more than 40 years of age was undertaken, with general practitioners as the primary point of contact. The intervention consisted of the practice receptionist giving female patients pamphlets about Papanicolaou smear-tests and the general practitioner offering a Papanicolaou smear-test. Nineteen general practitioners and their female patients (n = 466) of more than 40 years of age who presented for consultation over a 10-day period were involved in this study. Each woman in the study was asked when she had last undergone a Papanicolaou smear-test. All women who were found to be "at risk", that is, who had not undergone a Papanicolaou smear-test in the previous two years (57% of those women who were asked) were offered cervical screening. Over-all about 50% of the women who were found to be "at risk" underwent a Papanicolaou smear-test at the general practitioner initiated request, either at the same consultation (26% of those "at risk") or on their return at a later date (23% of those "at risk"). Therefore, the intervention appears to have been effective in encouraging a relatively high-risk group of patients to undergo Papanicolaou smear-tests. However, the strategy was differentially effective depending on age: more women of less than 65 years of age underwent a Papanicolaou smear-test than did women of more than 65 years of age. The feasibility of using the intervention in everyday general practice depends on the willingness of medical practitioners to ask female patients to undergo a Papanicolaou smear-test, the ability to take a Papanicolaou smear during the consultation or soon after, and the acceptance of the invitation by women as based on an understanding of the need.