Interventions to Improve Adherence to Cervical Cancer Screening Recommendations among Emergency Department Patients: Enrollment Data in Anticipation of Interventional Trial Results

Background: Cervical cancer is among the most preventable forms of cancer. Still, only 80.7% of US women aged 21–65 years report adherence to US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) cervical cancer screening recommendations. This rate is far below the Healthy People 2020 target of 93%. Concerningly, this rate of adherence was found to be dropping from 2000–2013, with notable disparities in screening coverage based on socioeconomic factors, including race, level of education, and access to care. The group identified as most likely to be non-adherent with recommended screening protocols are patients who use the emergency department (ED) for their usual source of care.