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Trends in the cervical cancer screening rates in a city in Japan between the years of 2004 and 2013

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Abstract

Background

The objective of our study was to evaluate trends in the cervical cancer screening rate in a city in Japan between the years of 2004 and 2013.

Methods

The cervical cancer screening rates for all female residents 20–49 years of age living in Toyonaka City for each year between 2004 and 2013 were analyzed and the effects of reminder letters and a free coupon program for cervical cancer screening on the subjects’ behavior were evaluated.

Results

The screening rate increased on a single-year basis from 8.9 % (2004) to 12.7 % (2009) as a result of the free coupon program. From 2009 onward, the screening rate on a single-year basis remained stable. Although the free coupon program increased the rate of screening participation, it did not achieve a continuous increase in the number of subjects undergoing screening. Furthermore, despite recommendations for biennial screening, some subjects participated in consecutive screening within the last 2 years after receiving visits for a regularly scheduled residential screening program 1 year before/after the current screening program with a free coupon. There was a peak in the rate of screening participation at the end of the fiscal year among females eligible for the free coupon program.

Conclusions

Excessive cervical cancer screening performed unnecessarily in the young is an unexpected limitation of free coupon programs. Further efforts to improve the screening rates are required, and the various factors leading young Japanese females to have a negative attitude toward cervical cancer screening should be identified.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan

    Yusuke Tanaka, Yutaka Ueda, Akiko Morimoto, Tomomi Egawa-Takata, Shinya Matsuzaki, Eiji Kobayashi, Kiyoshi Yoshino & Tadashi Kimura

  2. Community Health Division, Toyonaka City Public Health Center, Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan

    Hisayo Kishida & Noriko Hosogai

Authors
  1. Yusuke Tanaka
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  2. Yutaka Ueda
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  3. Hisayo Kishida
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  4. Noriko Hosogai
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  5. Akiko Morimoto
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  6. Tomomi Egawa-Takata
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  7. Shinya Matsuzaki
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  8. Eiji Kobayashi
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  9. Kiyoshi Yoshino
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  10. Tadashi Kimura
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yutaka Ueda.

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Tanaka, Y., Ueda, Y., Kishida, H. et al. Trends in the cervical cancer screening rates in a city in Japan between the years of 2004 and 2013. Int J Clin Oncol 20, 1156–1160 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-015-0842-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-015-0842-3

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