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Mercer County Public Health Profile Report

Self-Reported Cervical Cancer Screening: Estimated Percent (Age-adjusted), 2017-2020*

  • Mercer
    83.2
    95% Confidence Interval (76.9 - 88.0)
    State
    80.6
    U.S.NA
    NA=Data not available.
  • Mercer Compared to State

    gauge ranking
    Description of Gauge

    Description of the Gauge

    This graphic is based on the county data to the left. It compares the county value of this indicator to the state overall value.
    • Excellent = The county's value on this indicator is BETTER than the state value, and the difference IS statistically significant.
    • Watch = The county's value is BETTER than state value, but the difference IS NOT statistically significant.
    • Improvement Needed = The county's value on this indicator is WORSE than the state value, but the difference IS NOT statistically significant.
    • Reason for Concern = The county's value on this indicator is WORSE than the state value, and the difference IS statistically significant.

    The county value is considered statistically significantly different from the state value if the state value is outside the range of the county's 95% confidence interval. If the county's data or 95% confidence interval information is not available, a blank gauge image will be displayed with the message, "missing information."
    NOTE: The labels used on the gauge graphic are meant to describe the county's status in plain language. The placement of the gauge needle is based solely on the statistical difference between the county and state values. When selecting priority health issues to work on, a county should take into account additional factors such as how much improvement could be made, the U.S. value, the statistical stability of the county number, the severity of the health condition, and whether the difference is clinically significant.

Why Is This Important?

Cervical cancer is one of the most curable cancers if detected early through routine screening. Almost all cases of cervical cancer are caused by infection with high-risk types of the human papillomavirus (HPV). The HPV vaccine protects against the HPV types that most often cause cervical cancer. Women who have had an HPV vaccine still need to have routine Pap smears because the vaccine does not fully protect against all the strains of the virus and other risk factors that can cause cervical cancer. HPV is transmitted through sexual contact. Any woman who is sexually active is at risk for developing cervical cancer. Other risk factors include giving birth to many children, having sexual relations at an early age, having multiple sex partners or partners with many other partners, cigarette smoking, and use of oral contraceptives. The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends screening for cervical cancer every 3 years with cervical cytology alone in women aged 21 to 29 years. For women aged 30 to 65 years, the USPSTF recommends screening every 3 years with cervical cytology alone, every 5 years with high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) testing alone, or every 5 years with hrHPV testing in combination with cytology (cotesting).

Risk and Resiliency Factors

Factors that are negatively associated with self-report of cervical cancer screening according to current guidelines include having '''less than a high school education''', being a '''US resident for less than 10 years''', and being '''non-Hispanic Asian'''. ([https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6093265/ Hall et al., 2018]) Note: [https://www-doh.state.nj.us/doh-shad/query/builder/njbrfs/PapTest/PapTestAA11_.html Custom data views] of the estimated prevalence of adherence to cervical cancer screening guidelines among New Jersey women by selected '''sociodemographic and other characteristics''' (including '''education level''', '''immigration status''', and '''race/ethnicity''') can be generated using the New Jersey Behavioral Risk Factor Survey interactive query module.

How Are We Doing?

In 2020, approximately 80% of respondents reported that they had received a Pap test within the past three years.

Healthy People Objective C-15:

Increase the proportion of women who receive a cervical cancer screening based on the most recent guidelines
U.S. Target: 93.0 percent
State Target: 93.6 percent

Related Indicators

Risk Factors:

Health Status Outcomes:


Note

All prevalence estimates are age-adjusted to the U.S. 2000 standard population.  *2019 data is not included in the average estimated prevalence. No data is available for 2019.

Data Sources

Behavioral Risk Factor Survey, Center for Health Statistics, New Jersey Department of Health, [http://www.state.nj.us/health/chs/njbrfs/]  

Measure Description for Self-Reported Cervical Cancer Screening

Definition: Estimated percentage of women ages 21-65 years who have had a Pap test in the past three years.
Numerator: The number of women ages 21-65 years who reported having a Pap test in the last three years.
Denominator: The total number of female survey respondents ages 21-65 years excluding those who responded "don't know" or "refused" to the numerator question.

Indicator Profile Report

Percentage of Adult Women Ages 21-65 Years who had a Pap Test Within the Past Three Years (exits this report)

Date Content Last Updated

10/27/2022
The information provided above is from the Department of Health's NJSHAD web site (https://nj.gov/health/shad). The information published on this website may be reproduced without permission. Please use the following citation: " Retrieved Thu, 28 March 2024 19:54:20 from Department of Health, New Jersey State Health Assessment Data Web site: https://nj.gov/health/shad ".

Content updated: no date