Ethnic disparities

Ethnic disparities in cervical cancer

Start off by having a look at the Cervical Cancer Audit Report 2000-2002 that was commissioned by the MOH after the Gisbourne Enquiry. Below is a graph and some more recent statistics from the MOH comparing cervical cancer deaths for NZ Māori women with those in the rest of the population. Both the incidence of cervical cancer and death rates are higher. The Cervical Screening Guidelines also contain some graphs illustrating the inequities present. The 2010 BPAC document also shows that the cervical screening rates are also lower for PI and Asian women. This 2011 McLeod NZMJ article will also give some information into ways of achieving equitable outcomes as will another article by the same author in the Australia and New Zealand Journal of Public Health and this BPAC article. This paper HPV vaccine uptake for ethnic groups. compares the types of HPV found in different ethnic groups in New Zealand and gives some hope that the HPV vaccine may help improve inequities.