Cancer of the cervix: evaluation of a screening campaign, 1993

The National Centre of the Cervix Screening Policy was developed following a report made by the Cervical Cancer Screening Evaluation Steering Committee of the Australian Health Minister's Advisory Council. The evaluation called for an organised approach to screening for cancer of the cervix based on an agreed national policy. The resulting policy states that all asymptomatic women aged 18-70 who are, or who have ever been, sexually active should have biennial Pap Smears. The Cancer of the Cervix campaign was developed as a strategy to communicate the aims of this policy to Australian women. National pre and post-campaign surveys were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign in providing women with information about the policy, specifically information regarding Pap Smears and the need for biennial screening. Respondents were asked whether they had heard of Pap Smear tests; if they had observed any advertising and/or other information on Pap Smears; what they thought the tests were used to detect; the plausibility of reasons for not having Pap Smears; their own reason for not having a Pap Smear; how often they had had Pap Smears in the past and how often they propose to have them in the future; the age and reason when Pap Smears are no longer needed; and whether they had had an abnormal Pap Smear result. Background variables include age, whether the respondent is of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent; whether English is the main language spoken in the household; marital status; highest level of education; occupation; annual income; and occupation and annual income of the main income earner.