Objective:

To evaluate changes in the prevalence of women who have never undergone cervical cancer screening and to describe sociodemographic disparities in nonscreening from 2005 to 2023.

Approach:

• Study Design: Cross-sectional study using NHIS data from 2005 to 2023.
• Data Analysis: Temporal trends assessed with Joinpoint regression; logistic regression models evaluated disparities in never-screening.

Key Findings:

• Percentage of women aged 21 to 29 years who never underwent screening rose from 12.5% in 2005 to 31.9% in 2023.
• For women aged 30 to 65 years, the proportion never screened increased from 5.3% in 2005 to 14.8% in 2023.
• HPV vaccination among women aged 21 to 29 years increased from 5.7% in 2008 to 54.0% in 2019.
• Disparities in never-screening were noted by race, education, insurance, and region.

Interpretation:

The increase in the percentage of women who have never undergone cervical cancer screening indicates significant gaps in preventive care, particularly among younger women.

Limitations:

• Study relies on publicly available data, which may not capture all relevant factors.
• Cross-sectional design limits causal inferences.

Conclusion:

The findings highlight a concerning trend of increasing numbers of unscreened women, particularly in younger age groups, alongside rising cervical cancer incidence rates.

Sources:

• National Health Interview Survey
• US Cancer Statistics