@article{Castanon_A-2021_109978,
title = {Cervical screening during the COVID-19 pandemic: optimising recovery strategies},
author = {Castanon, A. and Rebolj, M. and Burger, E. and de Kok, I. and Smith, M. and Hanley, S. and Carozzi, F. and Peacock, S. and O'Mahony, J.},
month = {apr},
year = {2021},
abstract = {Disruptions to cancer screening services have been experienced in most settings as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ideally, programmes would resolve backlogs by temporarily expanding capacity; however, in practice, this is often not possible. We aim to inform the deliberations of decision makers in high-income settings regarding their cervical cancer screening policy response. We caution against performance measures that rely solely on restoring testing volumes to pre-pandemic levels because they will be less effective at mitigating excess cancer diagnoses than will targeted measures. These measures might exacerbate pre-existing inequalities in accessing cervical screening by disregarding the risk profile of the individuals attending. Modelling of cervical screening outcomes before and during the pandemic supports risk-based strategies as the most effective way for screening services to recover. The degree to which screening is organised will determine the feasibility of deploying some risk-based strategies, but implementation of age-based risk stratification should be universally feasible.},
pages = {E522-E527},
volume = {6},
issue = {7},
journal = {Lancet Public Health},
publisher = {Elsevier},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00078-5},
}
