Determinants of cervical cancer screening among women with intellectual disabilities: evidence from medical records

Abstract

Objective: We examined receipt of cervical cancer screening and determinants of screening for women with intellectual disabilities in one Southeastern state.

Methods: Using medical records data from 2006 through 2010 for community-dwelling women with intellectual disabilities who were 18-65 years of age (n=163), we employed descriptive and bivariate statistics and a multivariate regression model to examine receipt of cervical cancer screening and the determinants of cervical cancer screening across women's sociodemographic and health-care provider characteristics.

Results: Of women 18-65 years of age with intellectual disabilities, 55% received a Papanicolaou (Pap) test during 2008-2010, markedly below the Healthy People 2020 targets or rates of Pap test receipt of women without intellectual disabilities. Women with intellectual disabilities who lived in residential facilities, those who lived in rural communities, and those who had an obstetrician/gynecologist had higher rates of receipt of care than other women with intellectual disabilities.

Conclusions: Assertive measures are required to improve the receipt of cervical cancer screening among women with intellectual disabilities. Such measures could include education of women with intellectual disabilities, as well as their paid and family caregivers, and incentives for health-care providers who achieve screening targets.

Figure

Percentage of sample of community-dwelling North Carolina women with intellectual disabilities aged 18–65 years receiving a Pap test: 2006–2010 (n=163)