Cervical screening uptake, political interest and voter turnout: a population-based survey of women in England.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the relationship between cervical screening uptake and political engagement, and to test whether political engagement and voting behaviour mediate the association between age and cervical screening uptake.

SETTING

A population-based survey of women in England in 2010.

METHODS

Women aged 26-64 took part in home-based computer-assisted interviews (n = 890). Women were classified as 'up to date' or 'overdue/never been screened' for cervical screening.

RESULTS

Most women (81%) were up-to-date with screening; 19% were overdue. Age and marital status were associated with screening status. Women who were not registered to vote, had not voted in previous general elections, and those who showed less interest in elections and lower intention to engage in political activities were more likely to be overdue for screening. In multivariate analyses (adjusting for all significant measures) 'being on the electoral register' was the only significant independent predictor of screening status. 'Being on the electoral register' was also the only measure of voting behaviour that mediated the association between age and screening status.

CONCLUSION

We found limited evidence for the hypothesis that falling attendance for cervical screening could be associated with a broader phenomenon of disillusionment as indexed by reported voting behaviour and other measures of political engagement. Alternative explanations should be considered in order to better understand falling cervical screening uptake, particularly among younger women.