Understanding the participation in cervical screening of Muslim women in Victoria, Australia from record-linkage data

Abstract

BackgroundPrevention of cervical cancer through screening can significantly decrease incidence and mortality from the disease. This study investigates whether there are significant differences in participation in screening among women born in Muslim countries compared to women born in Non-Muslim countries and Australia. MethodsScreening data from Jan 2000 to Dec 2013 from the Victorian Cervical Cytology Registry (VCCR) was linked probabilistically with hospital records containing country of birth information from the Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset (VAED). Countries with more than 50 % of their population Muslim were categorised as Muslim countries. Age adjusted rates were calculated for women born in Muslim and Non-Muslim countries and compared with the Australian age adjusted rates. Logistic regression assessed the association between screening status and other factors which include principal diagnosis, country of birth, marital status, age and socio-economic status. ResultsWomen born in Muslim countries (OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.75–0.78) and in other Non-Muslim countries (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.82–0.84) had lower odds of participation in screening than Australian born women. Women born in Muslim countries (OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.69–0.74) and in other Non- Muslim countries (OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.69–0.72) admitted to the hospital for perinatal reasons had lower odds of participation in screening than Australian born women. ConclusionsFuture screening programs should incorporate ethnic diversity of the population, particularly Muslim immigrant community. There is also a need to focus on improving screening among older Muslim women.