[Implementation status of cervical screening in Europe]

Abstract

Following the recommendation of the Council of the European Union, almost all governments made a policy statement on the introduction of cytology-based cervical screening for the health care system. However, the status of implementation is uneven. In the majority of the developed countries an organised model of screening recommended by the relevant international professional organisations are in use, while occasional screening is applied in some other countries. Screening strategies (i.e. age range, screening intervals), coverage of the target population, and compliance rates vary significantly. The screening activities are in a planning phase is some less developed Central-Eastern and South European countries. In Hungary, the transition from the traditional "gynaecological cancer screening" into the recommended organised cervical screening is in progress; the active involvement of the district health visitors in the cervical screening would provide further improvement.

Keywords: citológiai méhnyakszűrés; cytology-based cervical screening; egészségpolitikai szándéknyilatkozat; health policy statement; organised and occasional screening; szervezett és alkalomszerű szűrés.