Achievements

In the past 19 years, PapScreen Victoria has enjoyed many major achievements.

Highlights include:

• The program's contribution to the significant impact on screening, incidence and mortality rates from cervical cancer - fewer than 60 Victorian women now die each year from cervical cancer and close to two thirds of women have a Pap test every two years.
  
  
• Increasing screening rates of women aged 50-59 and women living in non-metropolitan areas to levels similar to those of all eligible women aged 18-69.
  
  
• The development of the role of nurses in cervical screening - an important strategy to raise screening rates, particularly of unscreened and underscreened women.
  
  
• The development of an integrated training program for medical students around cervical screening with the University of Melbourne.
  
  
• The development of world-first and first-class resources, including videos, brochures and audio resources. The program has also developed a highly successful television commercial.
  
  
• Since PapScreen began, there has been a 50% reduction in cervical cancer incidence and mortality in Victoria. Had rates remained as they were in 1990 (the year before PapScreen began), an additional 2,277 women would have been diagnosed with cervical cancer during the 19 years of PapScreen. Had rates remained as they were in 1990, an additional 763 women would have died from cervical cancer during the 19 years of PapScreen.
  
  
• In 1990 the median age of women diagnosed with cervical cancer was 48 years - this has risen to 59 years in 2006.

 

 

print this page

Email this page