Table 2. Organisation characteristics in screening for cervical cancer in the 18 European countries.

Country/region	Are women in the target population invited personally to participate?	How women are invited/smears offered	Source of personal invitations	Is screening registered on an individual basis?	Information available on screen-detected histological findings?	Remarks
Czech Republic	No	Opportunity	—	No	No
Denmark	Yes, only women without a recent smear	Letter or opportunity	Population, pathology and health insurance registries	No national registration. Varies between counties, most have all smears and histology in the county pathology register	No	Organised screening was introduced gradually county-wise. Information on screening and histological findings can be collected as a research activity
Finland	Yes	Letter	Population registry	Yes, centrally, invitational programme	Yes	Organised screening introduced gradually during 1963–1970; invitational coverage almost complete since 1971
Hungary	Yes	Letter	Social security register and health insurance funds	Yes, centrally, invitational programme	No
Iceland	Yes, only women without a recent smear	Letter or opportunity	Population registry	Yes, centrally, all	Yes	Computerised call-recall system from 1964. About 70% of smears in 2000 were from the invitational programme
Lithuania	No (yes in some regions)	Opportunity, announcements, mass media	Health service registers	Yes, centrally (in 10 out of 60 regions), invitational programme	Yes
Luxembourg	No	Opportunity	—	Yes, most of them at the national health laboratory	Yes	Reorganisations in 1980 and 1990
Netherlands	Yes	Letter	Population registry	Yes, both centrally and regionally, all	Yes
Norway	Yes, only women without a recent smear	Letter or opportunity	Population registry	Yes, centrally, all	Yes
Slovakia	No (yes in some districts)	Letter or opportunity	Health service registers	No	No
Slovenia	Yes, only women without a recent smear	Letter or opportunity	Population and health service registers	Yes, centrally, all	Yes (under construction)
Sweden	Yes, only women without a recent smear	Letter or opportunity	Population registry	Yes, regionally, all. A central register under construction	Yes (under construction)
Switzerland	No	Opportunity	—	—	No
UK	Yes, only women without a recent smear	Letter or opportunity	Health services register	Yes, centrally and regionally, all	Yes	Computerised call-recall in 1988. Target incentive payments to GPs since 1990. National coordination and quality assurance introduced in 1995
France
Bas-Rhin	Yes, only women without a recent smear	Letter or opportunity	Health service register	Yes, regionally, all	Yes
Doubs	Yes, only women without a recent smear	Letter and/or campaign	Social security register	Yes, regionally, all	No data
Isére	Yes	Letter	Social security register	Yes, regionally, invitational programme	No data	Pap smear screening in connection with breast cancer screening
Germany
Saarland	No	Smears offered through health insurance scheme	—	No	No
Italy
Florence	Yes, only women without a recent smear	Letter or opportunity	Population registry	Yes, regionally, all	Yes
Genova	No	Opportunity	—	No	No
Parma	Yes	Letter	Population and health service register	Yes, regionally, invitational programme	Yes
Ragusa	No	Opportunity	—	No	No
Torino	Yes	Letter	Population registry	Yes, regionally, invitational programme	Yes
Varese	No	Opportunity	—	No	No	Screening campaigns in the past within part of the area
Spain
Catalonia	No	Opportunity	—	No	Yes