Papanicolaou smear screening: coverage in two home surveys applied in the city of São Paulo in 1987 and 2001-2002

To compare the coverage of conventional Papanicolaou cytology in women aged 15 to 59 years between two home surveys, related to some personal attributes and to the tendency to die from cervical cancer. We analyzed data collected in two home surveys, with complex sampling, in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, over the years from 1987 to 2001 and 2002. The self-reported answers of 968 women in the first inquiry and of 1,125 women in the second inquiry were compared regarding the reply to the question about the execution of the Papanicolaou test "sometimes in a lifetime" in relation to age distribution, black skin, marital status, years of education and tendency to die because cervical cancer during the period from 1980 to 2007. The Fisher exact test was used to compare the sample regarding each item, with the level of significance set at p value >5%. From the first to the second inquiry there was a 24% increase in the execution of conventional Papanicolaou cytology (from 68.8% to 85%). The greatest variations in the increased coverage related to the personal attributes of the women were detected in black skin color, among single women and among women of lower schooling. Regarding the tendency to mortality rates due to cervical cancer, no clear ascending or declining tendency was observed along the 28 years studied (1980 to 2007). There was an increase in access to the cytological Papanicolaou test among the most vulnerable women. Since 2001 and 2002, the 85% coverage already reached WHO recommendation, although without a clear trend of decline in mortality due to cervical cancer in the following years, indicating that screening is only part of an effective and organized program for the control of cervical cancer, whose model must guarantee full women's health care.