EVIDENCE-BASED CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING PRACTICE PATTERNS IN DIVERSE MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER FEMALE POPULATIONS WITH AND WITHOUT ANY LIMITATIONS

Abstract

Enhancing the use of clinical preventive services and closing the access gap in middle-aged and older adults is a key joint priority of the Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Administration on Aging. We identified disparities in U.S. Preventive Services Task Force evidence-based cervical cancer screening practices in middle-aged and older females with and without any limitations. Our overall approach involved use of publically available nationally representative Medical Expenditure Survey longitudinal data from calendar years 2004–2014 of community-dwelling females ages 50–75 with and without any limitation. We found middle-aged and older females with any limitation in comparison to females with no limitation were less likely to have received cervical cancer screening (OR=0.64, p<0.001). Studies need to evaluate if less use of cancer screening in females with disabilities protects them from subsequent downstream harms.