Cervical cancer screening rose from 2019 to 2024, but disparities persisted

A cross-sectional study of electronic medical records examined cervical cancer screening rates among female patients aged 21 to 64 years from 2019 through 2024. Rates increased across racial and ethnic groups, but remained lowest among American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander patients and in the South and West.

Screening rates rose across racial and ethnic groups.
Hispanic patients had the largest increase, to 15.51%.
Several Indigenous and Pacific Islander groups had the lowest rates.
Rates were lower in the South and West.

Researchers used an electronic medical record database to assess annual cervical cancer screening rates among female patients aged 21 to 64 years who had at least one health care encounter between 2019 and 2024. The cross-sectional analysis included approximately 9 million to 16 million patients per year and compared trends by race and ethnicity, age, language, and US census region. The Cochran-Armitage test was used to assess linear trends over time.

Screening rates increased across all racial and ethnic groups. Among non-Hispanic White patients, the rate rose from 10.98% in 2019 (95% CI, 10.96%-11.01%) to 13.85% in 2024 (95% CI, 13.82%-13.87%), the smallest percentage increase reported. Hispanic patients had the largest increase, from 9.85% to 15.51%. American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander patients had the lowest rates throughout the study. Rates were also lower in the South and West than in other regions.

The findings identify groups and regions where screening gaps persisted despite overall increases. Because the analysis used EMR data from patients with health care encounters, it may not represent people with limited access to care; it also describes trends rather than causes or the effects of specific interventions.

In practice

Among female patients aged 21 to 64 years with at least one recorded health care encounter, screening rates increased from 2019 through 2024, but remained comparatively low among American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander patients and in the South and West. These patterns can help identify populations and regions for further attention in screening outreach and access efforts. The study is observational and based on EMR encounters, so it does not establish why differences occurred or show that any specific intervention will improve uptake; it does not indicate a change to screening guidance.

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Source

JAMA Network Open: Cervical Cancer Screening Rates by Race and Ethnicity, Age, Language, and Census Region ↗

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