Link between the referring physician and breast and cervical cancers screening: a cross-sectional study in France.

BACKGROUND: The aims of the "médecin traitant" or referring physician (RP) reform, introduced in France in 2004, were to improve the organisation and quality of care and to allow for greater equity, particularly in terms of prevention. The objective of our study was to evaluate the effect of having a declared RP on the uptake of screening for breast and cervical cancers, and to explore the mechanisms involved. METHODS: We used an existing dataset of 1,072,289 women, which combines data from the Health Insurance information systems, with census data. We built multivariable logistic regression models to study the effect of having a RP on the uptake of mammography and pap smear, adjusted for age, socio-economic level, health status and healthcare provision. We secondarily added to this model the variable "having consulted a General Practitioner (GP) within the year". Finally, we evaluated the interaction between the effect of having a referring physician and the area of residence (metropolitan/urban/rural). RESULTS: Patients who had a declared RP had a significantly higher uptake of mammography and pap smear than those who did not. The strength of the association was particularly important in very urban areas. The effect of having visited a GP seemed to explain a part of the correlation between having a RP and uptake of screening. CONCLUSIONS: Lower rates of gynaecological screening among women without an RP compared to those with an RP may partly reflect a specific behaviour pattern in women less adherent to the health care system. However, this result also shows the importance of the RP, who assumes the key role of relaying public health information in a more personalised and adapted way.

Women's health in migrant populations: a qualitative study in France.

BACKGROUND: In 2019, there are 6.5 million migrants living in France. Numerous quantitative studies show inequalities in access and quality of care, in particular in women's health. This study aimed to explore migrant women's experience of gynaecological care. METHODS: We conducted 17 semi-structured in-depth interviews with migrant women in Toulouse (France). We used a Grounded Theory approach to perform the analysis. RESULTS: Although migrant women were generally satisfied with the gynaecological care received, they also reported dysfunctions. Positive elements were the French health insurance system, the human qualities of the healthcare providers and the performance of the health system. Although reassuring, the structured framework was perceived to have little flexibility. This was sometimes felt as oppressive, paternalistic or discriminatory. These obstacles, amplified by the women's lifestyle instability and precariousness, the language barrier and the difficulty to understand a totally new healthcare system, made women's health care and, especially, preventive care, a difficult-to-achieve and low-priority objective for the women. CONCLUSIONS: Migrant women's overall satisfaction with the healthcare system contrasted with the known health inequalities in these populations. This is a good example of the concept of acculturation. Healthcare professionals need to make an introspective effort to prevent the emergence of stereotypes and of discriminatory and paternalistic behaviours. A better understanding and respect of the other person's culture is an indispensable condition for intercultural medicine, and thus for reducing the health inequalities that migrant women experience.

Social and territorial inequalities in breast and cervical cancers screening uptake: a cross-sectional study in France.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the impact of socio-territorial characteristics on mammography and pap smear uptake according to the place of residence in the recommended age groups, and second outside the recommended age groups. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: We used an existing dataset of 1 027 039 women which combines data from the Health Insurance information systems, with census data from Midi-Pyrénées, France. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Our outcome was, for each woman, the uptake of the pap smear and the uptake of the mammography during the year. RESULTS: A social gradient of screening uptake was found in the recommended age groups. This gradient was stronger in large urban areas:(1) For mammography: decile 10 (the most deprived) vs 1 (the least deprived), adjusted OR 0.777, 95% CI (0.748 to 0.808) in large urban area; adjusted OR= 0.808 for decile 1 to 0.726 for decile 10 in other areas vs decile 1 in urban areas;(2) For pap smear: decile 10 vs 1 adjusted OR 0.66, 95%CI (0.642 to 0.679) in large urban areas; adjusted OR= 0.747 for decile 1 to 0.562 for decile 10 in other areas vs decile 1 in urban areas).Screening rates were globally higher in large urban areas.For mammography, the social and territorial disparities were higher outside the recommended age group. CONCLUSIONS: Offering a universal approach to every woman, as it is often the case in nationally organised screening programmes, is likely to be insufficient to ensure real equity in access. Developing global dataset combining health data and diverse socioeconomic data, at individual and contextual levels, could enable a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in this social gradient, and therefore, the development of targeted territorial actions to improve equity of access to healthcare.