The cost of cervical cancer screening provided by a women's health nurse

Abstract

This study examines the cost of cervical cancer screening provided by a women's health nurse. Methods used to estimate the cost of taking a Pap smear were based on the economic principle of opportunity cost. Techniques for estimating the magnitude of some costs were developed specifically for this study because the cost of taking a Pap smear had to be isolated from the costs of other services provided by the women's health nurse. The cost of taking a Pap smear in 1989 was estimated to be between $17.68 and $17.95. A sensitivity analysis was carried out so that the results of this study could be adapted for practices which differ from the women's health nurse's practice in the Mount Druitt and Hawkesbury area of New South Wales. As a result of this analysis, the cost of taking a Pap smear ranged from $14.16 to $38.88, depending on whether the women's health nurse was a Clinical Nurse Consultant or Clinical Nurse Specialist, the number of Pap smears taken, the proportion of clients who come for postnatal examinations, length of consultations and the distance travelled. It should be noted that the cost of taking a Pap smear would rise considerably above $38.88 for women's health nurses working in remote areas.