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Cervical cancer screening programs and their context-dependent effect on inequalities in screening uptake: a dynamic interplay between public health policy and welfare state redistribution

Abstract Background While organized and opportunistic cervical cancer screening (CCS) programs implemented across the European Union have increased participation rates, barriers to socioeconomically deprived women remain substantial, implying high levels of inequality in CCS uptake. Aim This study assesses how the screening strategy (as a score based on the availability of organized population-based CCS programs), accessibility of the healthcare system (as an index of out-of-pocket expenditure as a proportion of total healthcare costs, public health expenditure as a percentage of total GDP, and general practitioner (GP) density per 10′000 inhabitants) and social protection (as a decommodification index), impact education- and income-based inequalities in CCS uptake. Methods A two-level design with 25–64-year-old women (N = 96′883), eligible for Pap smear screening, nested in 28 European countries, was used to analyze data from the European Health Interview Survey’s second wave, using multilevel logistic regression modelling. Results Clear educational and income gradients in CCS uptake were found, which were smaller in countries with organized CCS programs, higher accessibility of the healthcare system and a higher level of decommodification. Furthermore, three-way interaction terms revealed that these gradients were smaller when organized CCS programs were implemented in countries with better accessibility of the healthcare system or a high level of decommodification. Conclusion This study indicates that the combination of organized screening and high accessibility of the healthcare system or social protection is essential for having lower levels of inequality in CCS uptake. In such countries, the structural threshold for poorer and lower educated women to engage in CCS is lower. This may be explained by them having a better interaction with their GP, who may convince them of the screening test, lower out-of-pocket payments, and financial support to buffer against a disadvantageous position on the labor market.

Cervical cancer (over-)screening in Europe: Balancing organised and opportunistic programmes

Aims: Cervical cancer (CC) over-screening has been understudied in Europe, yet is relevant for approaching inequalities in screening uptake. Focusing on countries’ screening strategies (opportunistic systems versus organised programmes), we assess in which contexts CC over-screening is more prevalent, and which women are more likely to have engaged in cervical cancer screening (CCS) within the past year. Methods: A two-level (multilevel) design among screening women ( N = 80,761) nested in 31 European countries was used to analyse data from the second wave (2013–2015) of the European Health Interview Survey. We focused on over-screening, defined as screening more frequently than the three-yearly screening interval prescribed in the European guidelines – that is, having screened within the past year. Results: Higher levels of over-screening were observed in opportunistic systems compared to systems with organised programmes. In opportunistic systems, women with a higher socioeconomic position had a higher likelihood of being screened within the past year than their socioeconomic counterparts. Moreover, these differences diminished under organised programmes. Conclusions: Contexts with organised CCS programmes are more efficiently reducing over-screening, and enforcing the European guidelines. We suggest that the physician–patient relationship is an essential pathway for explaining socioeconomic differences in CC (over-)screening and for future interventions.