[The inappropriateness in the use of female cancer screening tests in Italy: over- and under-utilization determinants]. / L'inappropriatezza nell'uso dei test di screening oncologici femminili in Italia: determinanti di sovra e sottoutilizzo.

OBJECTIVES: to identify the determinants of over and under-use of Pap test and mammography in the screening programme target population. DESIGN: cross-sectional study. SETTING E PARTICIPANTS: we used data from the National Health interview conducted by the Italian National Institute of Statistics in 2012-2013 obtaining nation-wide representative samples of the female resident population aged 25-64 years (No. 32,831; target age of Pap test) and 50-69 years (No. 16,459; target age of mammography). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: overall coverage: proportion of women in the target age with at least one test in lifetime; appropriate coverage: proportion of women reporting to have at least one or more tests following the first one with the recommended frequency (three and two years for Pap test and mammography, respectively); over-use: women reporting to repeat test at higher frequency; under-use: women reporting not having ever had a test or having test at longer intervals. For frequency outcomes, only women aged 28-64 years and 52-69 years were included for Pap test and mammography, respectively. RESULTS: 11.9% of women have Pap test at the recommended frequency, 48.5% at shorter intervals, and 19.6% at longer intervals than recommended, while 20.0% never had a Pap test at all (39.6% under-use). 41.1% of women have a mammography at the recommended interval, 18.4% at shorter intervals, and 20.2% at longer intervals, while 20.3% never had a mammography at all. For both tests, in the North-East higher appropriate coverage and less over-use are observed, while in the South more under-use is highlighted. Young, foreigners, single, less educated, and unoccupied women have, at the same time, more over- and under-use for Pap test. Foreigner women reporting economic difficulties and single women have more mammography over and under-use. CONCLUSIONS: Pap test and, in a minor measure, mammography over-use are relevant in Italy, while large part of the population is still not covered.

[Cervical and breast cancer screening among immigrant women resident in Italy]. / Capitolo 3: La prevenzione dei tumori femminili nelle donne immigrate residenti in Italia.

OBJECTIVES: to compare Pap test and mammography uptake in 2005 and 2013 between Italian and immigrant women residing in Italy and to evaluate factors associated with probability of being up-to-date with screening testing in immigrant women. DESIGN: cross-sectional study based on data of "Multipurpose survey on health and use of health services" conducted in 2005 and 2013 by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat). SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: the analysis includes the interviews of women included in the target age group for Pap test (25-64 years: No. 32,831) and mammography (50- 69 years: No. 16,459). Women resident in Italy with foreign citizenship are defined as "immigrants". MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: standardized prevalence rates of women self-reporting having had a Pap test and a mammography in the absence of symptoms "at least once in a lifetime"; standardized prevalence ratio of up-to-date test uptake according to recommendation, i.e., in the last three years for Pap test and two years for mammography. A logistic regression model has been built to evaluate the association between up-to-date test uptake and demographic, socioeconomic, behavioural, and health service utilization factors in immigrant women. RESULTS: prevalence of Pap test and mammography uptake was lower in immigrants, both in 2005 and 2013. This difference reduced in 2013 due to a stronger increase in immigrants than in Italians, except for mammography. The increase in Pap test uptake among immigrant women was stronger in North-Eastern (+26,4%) and Central Italy (+26,4%), while in Southern Italy and in the Islands the increase was stronger among Italian women. Test uptake in immigrants increases with longer length of stay in Italy for both tests. Among immigrants (No. 2,601), Pap test uptake was higher in women who: had a preventive examination in the previous month (OR: 2.13); have an Italian partner (OR: 1.72); have been staying in Italy for more than 13 years; are graduated (OR: 1.87); perceive their economic resources as adequate or optimal (OR: 1.39); come from the Americas (68% more if compared to Africans). As regards mammography uptake in immigrants (No. 636), associated factors are: having had a preventive examination in the previous month (OR: 3.35); having high educational level (OR: 2.51); perceiving economic resources as adequate or optimal (OR: 1.75). CONCLUSION: this study shows that there is a lower screening uptake in immigrant women, as observed in other studies conducted both in Italy and in industrialized Countries, even with longer history of immigration. In the South of Italy, the uptake is very low also for Italian women, with prevalence lower than immigrants in Northern Italy. This phenomenon suggests that high accessibility to screening facilities is effective in increasing uptake in both Italian and immigrant women. The decreasing trend in differences with longer lengths of stay, the improvement in 2013 compared to 2005, and the advantage of women with Italian partners suggest a positive effect of integration on preventive behaviours, even if there are differences between immigrants' areas of origin.

Geographical and socioeconomic differences in uptake of Pap test and mammography in Italy: results from the National Health Interview Survey.

OBJECTIVE: The Italian National Health Service instituted cervical and breast cancer screening programmes in 1999; the local health authorities have a mandate to implement these screening programmes by inviting all women aged 25-64 years for a Pap test every 3 years (or for an Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) test every 5 years) and women aged 50-69 years for a mammography every 2 years. However, the implementation of screening programmes throughout the country is still incomplete. This study aims to: (1) describe cervical and breast cancer screening uptake and (2) evaluate geographical and individual socioeconomic difference in screening uptake. METHODS: Data both from the Italian National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) conducted by the National Institute of Statistics in 2012-2013 and from the Italian National Centre for Screening Monitoring (INCSM) were used. The NHIS interviewed a national representative random sample of 32 831 women aged 25-64 years and of 16 459 women aged 50-69 years. Logistic multilevel models were used to estimate the effect of socioeconomic variables and behavioural factors (level 1) on screening uptake. Data on screening invitation coverage at the regional level, taken from INCSM, were used as ecological (level 2) covariates. RESULTS: Total 3-year Pap test and 2-year mammography uptake were 62.1% and 56.4%, respectively; screening programmes accounted for 1/3 and 1/2 of total test uptake, respectively. Strong geographical differences were observed. Uptake was associated with high educational levels, healthy behaviours, being a former smoker and being Italian versus foreign national. Differences in uptake between Italian regions were mostly explained by the invitation coverage to screening programmes. CONCLUSIONS: The uptake of both screening programmes in Italy is still under acceptable levels. Screening programme implementation has the potential to reduce the health inequalities gap between regions but only if uptake increases.