Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jun 1;33(3):502-508.
doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckad055.

Survey of current policies towards widening cervical screening coverage among vulnerable women in 22 European countries

Meritxell Mallafré-Larrosa  1   2 , David Ritchie  1 , Ginevra Papi  1 , Isabel Mosquera  3 , Keitly Mensah  3 , Eric Lucas  3 , Rikke Buus Bøje  4 , Pia Kirkegaard  3   4 , Berit Andersen  4   5 , Partha Basu  3 ; CBIG-SCREEN Consortium
Collaborators, Affiliations

Survey of current policies towards widening cervical screening coverage among vulnerable women in 22 European countries

Meritxell Mallafré-Larrosa et al. Eur J Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to investigate the status of cervical cancer screening (CCS) implementation in Europe by investigating national or regional policies towards broadening coverage of CCS amongst vulnerable subgroups of the population at high risk for CC.

Methods: A web-based survey was conducted between September 2021 and February 2022 with CCS programme managers and experts to identify and rank six population subgroups at high risk considered most vulnerable to CC and to map existing policies that addressed the coverage of CCS towards population sub-groups at risk.

Results: A total of 31 responses were received from experts covering 22 European countries. The results of this survey suggest that whilst many countries identify lower coverage of CCS amongst population subgroups at high risk of CC as a public health problem, few countries have developed dedicated policies towards broadening coverage among these subgroups. The six countries who reported having done so were concentrated in the Northern or Western European regions, suggesting the existence of geographical disparities within the continent. A key challenge in this respect is the difficulty to categorize subgroups of the target population; many individuals are burdened by intersectionality thereby resting in multiple categories, which may hinder the effectiveness of interventions targeted to reach specific subgroups.

Conclusion: A greater clarity on the conceptualization of vulnerability can help countries to develop and subsequently implement strategies to increase coverage to subgroups of the target population currently underserved with regards to CCS.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, et al.Global cancer statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin 2021;71:209–49. - PubMed
    1. Ferlay J, Laversanne M, Ervik M, et al.Global Cancer Observatory: Cancer Tomorrow. Global Cancer Observatory: Cancer Tomorrow. Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2020.
    1. World Health Organization. Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer as a Public Health Problem and Its Associated Goals and Targets for the Period 2020 – 2030, Vol. 2, Geneva: United Nations General Assembly, 2021; 1–3.
    1. European Commission. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council. Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. 2021. Available at: https://health.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2022-02/eu_cancer-plan_en_0.pdf (28 November 2022, date last accessed).
    1. Cohen PA, Jhingran A, Oaknin A, Denny L.. Cervical cancer. Lancet 2019;393:169–82. - PubMed

Publication types