On this page: About the National Data | Methodology | History
About the National Data
Data
Data Source: National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), CDC/NCHS
Baseline: 75.0 percent of females aged 21 to 65 years received a cervical cancer screening based on the most recent guidelines in 2019
Target: 79.2 percent
Methodology
Healthy People 2030 uses the current U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) Grade A recommendation to measure this objective: 1. For women aged 21 to 29 years: a Pap test every 3 years; and 2. For women aged 30 to 65 years: a) Pap test every 3 years; or b) a high-risk HPV (hrHPV) test alone every 5 years; or c) a hrHPV test in combination with a Pap test every 5 years. The USPSTF also recommends against routine Pap smear screening for women who have had a total hysterectomy.
Data for this objective include women aged 21 to 65 years who were screened for cervical cancer, as outlined in the USPSTF recommendation. Additionally, women aged 30 to 65 years were also considered up to date if they reported being screened for cervical cancer within the past 3 years but reported not knowing whether they had a Pap test or HPV test at their most recent visit or refused to state which test they had had. Women who reported having a hysterectomy were excluded from the analyses.
The denominator does not include respondents who reported ever having cervical cancer.
History
In 2023, due to the 2019 NHIS survey redesign and a revised denominator to exclude women with a history of cervical cancer, the baseline was changed from 80.5% in 2018 to 75.0% in 2019 and the target was changed from 84.3% to 79.2%.
1. Effect size h=0.1 was chosen to correspond with 10% improvement from a baseline of 50%.