Data Shows Population Health Disparities in Cancer Screenings 

January 20, 2022 - Data analytics from the University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHealth Houston) indicate a decline in cervical cancer screenings. According to researchers, screening rates are the lowest among Asian and Hispanic populations, as well as those who live in rural areas, don’t have insurance, or identify as LGBQ+, highlighting disparities in population health. 

In a nationally representative cross-sectional study of 20,557 women, data analytics revealed a major increase in populations of women without an up-to-date cervical cancer screening from 14.4 percent in 2005 to 23.0 percent in 2019.  

The study gathered data from the National Health Information Survey (NHIS) provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Significant health disparities were discovered across different sociodemographic populations. However, the most reported reason for not receiving a recent screening across all groups was lack of information, ranging from 47.2 percent in LGBQ+ populations to 64.4 percent of women with Hispanic ethnicity.  

“What this means is that more campaigns about cervical cancer screenings are needed,” an assistant professor of management, policy, and community health at UTHealth School of Public Health, Ryan Suk, PhD, said in a press release.  

“There would need to be targeted, culturally adapted campaigns for each of these sociodemographic groups.” 

Significantly higher rates of overdue screenings were identified among women of Asian descent compared to those of non-Hispanic White race and ethnicity (31.4 percent vs. 20.1 percent). 

“There were also higher rates among women living in rural versus urban areas (26.2% vs. 22.6%); those without insurance versus those with private insurance (41.7% vs. 18.1%); and women identifying as LGBQ+ versus heterosexual (32.0% vs. 22.2%). Transgender individuals could not be identified because the NHIS data does not have information on transgender and only includes a binary sex variable of male and female,” the press release stated.  

Additionally, data analytics also highlighted disparities across age groups, showing that women ages 21 to 29 have much higher rates of overdue screening (29.1 percent) than women ages 30 to 65 (21.1 percent). 

According to Suk, these findings underscore the importance of recommendations from healthcare professionals in promoting cervical cancer screenings, playing a large role in preventive care.  

“Timely cervical cancer screening is a crucial prevention measure of cervical cancer, especially for those who could not benefit from the introduction of HPV vaccine,” Suk said.  

“Most cervical cancer cases are preventable, and we need to spend more efforts on improving overall timely screening rate, but also on reducing disparities across diverse populations. This study emphasizes and reminds us that we need a more inclusive and sustainable approach in the implementation of this evidence-based screening strategy.”