According to the literature, women coming from countries with strong migratory pressure are at a greater
risk of cancer of the cervix with respect to Italian women. This is connected with the fact that women born
outside Italy are less likely to undergo a cervical smear. In the Veneto Region the official immigrant population
is equivalent to approximately 10% of the total population.
This article analyzes the utilization of cervical smear from immigrant women in the Veneto Region, taking
into account the smears performed both inside and outside organized screening programmes.
Data have been gathered both from the archives of the screening programmes of the Local Health Authorities
and from PASSI, a national surveillance system based on a standardized questionnaire administered
through telephone interviews.
The screening crude participation rate among foreign women was 45.3%, only slightly lower than the one
of Italian women. The participation is lower in women from Asia and in women above 50 years.
The percentage of positive smear tests was 2.7% among Italian women and 4.0% among foreign women.
Compliance to colposcopy has been 89.9% for Italian women and 88.1% for foreign women. The detection
rate of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade II or worse (CIN II+ diagnoses) in foreign women has been
twofold the one detected in Italian women.
If we consider the number of smear tests carried out in the last three years and outside the context of screening
programmes, the number of women who have undergone a pap smear is much higher among Italian
women, women 39-45 years old and women with a high level of education and without particular economic
difficulties. The opposite is true for the organized screening programmes, where the differences according
to age, level of education, economic difficulties and citizenship are reduced.
These data confirm that women coming from countries with strong migratory pressure are at a greater risk
of cancer of the cervix with respect to Italian women. A decrease in inequalities (in terms of education
level, socio-economical status and nationality) is shown when considering the access to the screening
programs