Disparities in the use of regular pap smears among migrant and non-migrant women in Austria: A population-based survey of 7633 women.

OBJECTIVE

Regular pap smears are effective in reducing cervical cancer incidence and mortality. Migrant women have been reported to utilize cervical cancer screening less often than non-migrant women. However, inconsistent results, e.g. from Germany, have also been reported. This study examines disparities in the use of annual pap smears among 20-69 year old migrant and non-migrant women in neighboring Austria.

METHOD: Data from a nationwide population-based survey of 7633 women is used of whom 504 (6.6%) were migrants from European Union countries and 251 (3.3%) were migrants from non-European Union countries. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to account for socio economic and health differences between the three population groups.

RESULTS

The study shows that as compared to the non-migrant women, migrant women from European Union and non-European Union countries were at lower odds of having received a pap smear in the last 12 months (adjusted odds ratio  = 0.80, 95% confidence interval = 0.66-0.96 and adjusted odds ratio = 0.74, 95%-confidence interval = 0.57-0.97, respectively). Disparities were similar with respect to utilization in the last 36 months (adjusted odds ratio = 0.60, 95% confidence interval = 0.46-0.77 and adjusted odds ratio = 0.58, 95% confidence interval = 0.40-0.82, respectively).

CONCLUSION

The findings are in agreement with research from the majority of other countries. They suggest barriers that migrants encounter in the health system and highlight the need for diversity-sensitive health care strategies.