Cancer of the Uterine Cervix and Screening of Aboriginal Women

Abstract

Carcinoma of the cervix has not been widely reported as an important health problem for Aboriginal women. From four sources, we have studied cervical cancer death rates, abnormalities detected by cervical cytology screening, and the proportion of women who had been screened. First, from the Northern Territory for the years 1979-1983, we present a relative risk of 6.3 (95% confidence interval, 3.0-11.6) for cervical cancer deaths in Aboriginal women compared with all Australian women. Second, the screening and disease rates in Aboriginal women were profiled within a large laboratory in Victoria. Since 1984, a fourfold increase in the number of smears taken at Aboriginal health services is apparent. In women attending these services, a high rate of significantly abnormal smears is evident. Third, to study the extent of screening, we interviewed Aboriginal women in a Victorian country setting and fourth, we examined a random sample of medical records from an Aboriginal Health Service. The proportion screened at least once rose from 5/47 (11%) among women whose most recent consultation with the Health Service was during the years 1974-1980 to 51/170 (31%) women who attended from 1981-1987 (p less than 0.01). Aboriginal communities may interpret these trends favourably as they encourage their women to be screened regularly to reduce cervical cancer mortality.