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. 2017 Nov 21;117(11):1711-1714.
doi: 10.1038/bjc.2017.331. Epub 2017 Oct 3.

Disability and participation in breast and bowel cancer screening in England: a large prospective study

S Floud  1 , I Barnes  1 , M Verfürden  2 , H Kuper  3 , T Gathani  1   4 , R G Blanks  1 , R Alison  1 , J Patnick  1 , V Beral  1 , J Green  1 , G K Reeves  1
Affiliations

Disability and participation in breast and bowel cancer screening in England: a large prospective study

S Floud et al. Br J Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: There is limited information about participation in organised population-wide screening programmes by people with disabilities.

Methods: Data from the National Health Service routine screening programmes in England were linked to information on disability reported by the Million Women Study cohort participants.

Results: Of the 473 185 women offered routine breast or bowel cancer screening, 23% reported some disability. Women with disabilities were less likely than other women to participate in breast cancer screening (RR=0.64, 95% CI: 0.62-0.65) and in bowel cancer screening (RR=0.75, 0.73-0.76). Difficulties with self-care or vision were associated with the greatest reduction in screening participation.

Conclusion: Participation in routine cancer screening programmes in England is reduced in people with disabilities and participation varies by type of disability.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
RR (95% CIs) for participating in breast and bowel cancer screening by various measures of disability. Any disability includes any type of disability and receipt of disability benefits. RRs are adjusted for age, region, deprivation, ethnicity, marital status, car availability, body mass index, and smoking.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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