Factors associated with cervical cancer screening: results from the Ontario Health Survey

A 1991 national workshop recommended strategies to ensure adequate coverage of screening for cervical cancer with Papanicolau (Pap) smears. One recommendation was the assessment of sociodemographic factors related to screening behaviour in Canadian women. O'Connor, using the Canadian Health Promotion Survey data, showed that increasing education, income and work status were predictors of utilization. A study using Manitoba physician billing data found that single, older, rural, inner city and northern residents were likely to be underscreened. This report examines the determinants of Pap smear utilization in Ontario women.