OBJECTIVES This study was conducted to analyze the inequalities in Papanicolaou test (also referred to as the Pap smear) uptake according to the socio-demographic characteristics of Peruvian women 30 years to 59 years of age using information from the 2015-2017 Demographic and Family Health Survey (ENDES, acronym in Spanish).
METHODS
This is an analytical, cross-sectional study based on information acquired from the 2015-2017 ENDES surveys. Socio-demographic characteristics were reported using absolute frequencies and weighted proportions with 95% confidence intervals, considering results with a p-value <0.05 as statistically significant. Concentration curves (CCs) and concentration indices (IndCs) were created based on the interaction of the wealth index and uptake of Pap smears, taking into account the different characteristics of the population studied for the measure of inequalities.
RESULTS
All the CCs were distributed below the line of equality. Similarly, all the IndCs were higher than zero, indicating inequality in the uptake of Pap smears, favoring those with a higher wealth index. The highest IndC values were obtained from women aged 50-59 (IndC, 0.293), those who lived in the jungle (IndC, 0.230), and those without health insurance (IndC, 0.173).
CONCLUSIONS
We found socio-demographic inequalities in the uptake of Pap smears in Peru, favoring women with a higher wealth index. More funding is needed to promote cervical cancer screening programs and to create systems that ensure equal access to healthcare in Peru.
Summary
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Ethnic inequalities in coverage and use of women’s cancer screening in Peru Claudio Intimayta-Escalante BMC Women's Health.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
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Reasons for never receiving a pap test among Brazilian women: National health survey Claudia Fernandes Rodrigues, José Victor Afonso Coutinho, Camila Drumond Muzi, Raphael Mendonça Guimarães Public Health Nursing.2021; 38(6): 963. CrossRef