Skip to main content
Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 1998 Nov 1;89(6):382–386. doi: 10.1007/BF03404079

A Review of a Prison Cervical Cancer Screening Program in British Columbia

Ruth Elwood Martin 16,
PMCID: PMC6990160  PMID: 9926496

Abstract

Objective: To review a 1995 Pap smear screening program at Burnaby Correctional Centre for Women (BCCW).

Method: 129 inmates (15%), were screened in BCCW in 1995. General population data were obtained from the British Columbia Cervical Cytology Screening Program (BC CCSP) Registry.

Results: BCCW inmates aged 25–29 years were 11 times more likely to have high grade cytologic abnormalities on Pap smear screening compared with age-matched general population (p<10−10). In the 20–34 year age group, 47% of BCCW inmates had received at least one Pap smear in 1992–1994, compared with 87% of the general population (p<0.001). There was no relationship between Pap smear results and BCCW inmate ethnicity (p=0.85).

Conclusions: Prison inmates presented with more severe abnormalities on Pap smear screening at a younger age, and had received Pap smear screening less frequently, compared with the general population.

References

  • 1.Parboosingh EJ, Anderson G, Clarke A, et al. Cervical cancer screening: Are the 1989 recommendations still valid? Can Med Assoc J. 1996;154:1847–53. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 2.Miller AB, Anderson G, Brisson J, et al. Report of a National Workshop on Screening for Cancer of the Cervix. Can Med Assoc J. 1991;145:1301–25. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 3.Heard I, Bergeron C, Jeannel D, et al. Papanicolaou smears in human immunodeficiency virus-seropositive women during follow-up. Obstet Gynecol. 1995;86:749–52. doi: 10.1016/0029-7844(95)00282-V. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 4.Macgregor JE, Campbell MK, Mann EMF, Swanson KY. Screening for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in north east Scotland shows fall in incidence and mortality from invasive cancer with concomitant rise in preinvasive disease. BMJ. 1994;308:1407–11. doi: 10.1136/bmj.308.6941.1407. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 5.Anderson GH, Benedet JL. Letter to BC physicians. 1992. [Google Scholar]
  • 6.Downey GP, Gabriel G, Deery ARS, et al. Management of female prisoners with abnormal cervical cytology. BMJ. 1994;308:1412–13. doi: 10.1136/bmj.308.6941.1412. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 7.Karsai H, Coldman AJ, Gavin D, et al. Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in female prisoners in British Columbia. Can Med Assoc J. 1988;139:733–36. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 8.Keighley E. Carcinoma of the cervix among prostitutes in a women’s prison. Br J Vener Dis. 1968;44:254–55. doi: 10.1136/sti.44.3.254. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 9.Moghissi KS, Mack HC, Porzak JP. Epidemiology of cervical cancer study of a prison population. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1968;100:607–14. doi: 10.1016/S0002-9378(15)33386-X. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 10.Unpublished data. British Columbia Cervical Cytology Screening Program, British Columbia Cancer Agency. 1995. [Google Scholar]
  • 11.Internal statistics. Corrections Branch, Ministry of Attorney General. 1995. [Google Scholar]
  • 12.Paskett ED, Phillips KC, Miller ME. Improving compliance among women with abnormal papanicolaou smears. Obstet Gynecol. 1995;86:353–59. doi: 10.1016/0029-7844(95)00176-R. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 13.Hislop TG, Clarke HF, Deschamps M, et al. Cervical cytology screening, how can we improve rates among First Nations women in urban British Columbia? Can Fam Phys. 1996;42:1701–8. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 14.Kottke TE, Trapp MA, Fores MM, et al. Cancer screening attitudes of women in southeastern Minnesota. JAMA. 1995;273:1099–105. doi: 10.1001/jama.1995.03520380035032. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 15.Band PR, Gallagher RP, Threfall WJ, et al. Rate of death from cervical cancer among native indian women in British Columbia. Can Med Assoc J. 1992;147:1802–4. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 16.Deschamps M, Band PR, Hislop TG, et al. Barriers to cervical cytology screening in native women in British Columbia. Cancer Detect Prev. 1992;16:337–39. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 17.Campbell H, MacDonald S, McKiernan M. Promotion of cervical screening uptake by health visitor follow-up of women who repeatedly failed to attend. J Public Health Med. 1996;18:94–97. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.pubmed.a024468. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 18.Anderson GH, Benedet JL, Le Riche JC, et al. Invasive cancer of the cervix in British Columbia: A review of the demography and screening histories of 437 cases seen from 1985–1988. Obstet Gynecol. 1992;80:1–4. doi: 10.3109/01443619209029905. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 19.Sweet L, Tesch M, Dryer D, et al. A review of cervical cytology screening history of PEI women diagnosed with carcinoma of the cervix, 1981–1986. Chron Dis Can. 1991;12:1–3. [Google Scholar]
  • 20.Goel V. Factors associated with cervical screening results from the Ontario Health Survey. Can J Public Health. 1994;85:125–27. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 21.Glaser J, Greifinger R. Correctional health care: A public health opportunity. Ann Intern Med. 1993;118:139–45. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-118-2-199301150-00010. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique are provided here courtesy of Springer

RESOURCES