Author
Summary
Objectives: To examine the association between ethnicity and cervical screening uptake in the UK. Method: The sample consisted of 12,006 women aged 25-64 living in the UK (mean age 45, SD 11) Mann-Whitney U and Chi-square tests were performed to determine the bivariate relationship between sociodemographic variables and cervical screening uptake. Based on the results from the bivariate analyses, an odds ratio (OR) was derived using logistic regression analysis with the following significant variables (p<0.05): age, ethnicity, religion, educational status, economic activity, national statistics socioeconomic classification, access to a car and number of visits to the GP. Results: In the weighted multivariable model, Asian women were less likely to go for a cervical screening test compared to White women (OR 0.525, p<0.01). Additionally, women were more likely to go for cervical screening if they had access to a car (OR 1.172, p<0.001) and had visited the GP (compared to no visits to the GP: 1-2 visits, OR 1.450, 3-5 visits OR 1.826, 6-10 visits OR 1.943, >10 visits OR 1.415, all: p<0.001). The ethnic groups of South Asian women for cervical screening uptake were Indian (27.4%), Pakistani (10.5%), and Bangladeshi (13%). Conclusion: The likelihood of participating in cervical screening was 47% lower among Asian women compared to White women. This has implications for future research and practice in terms of identifying barriers to uptake and subsequently developing culturally appropriate interventions to try to improve uptake amongst Asian women.