A study on service capacity of primary medical and health institutions for cervical cancer screening in urban and rural areas in China

Objective To provide a decision-making basis for sustainable and effective development of cervical cancer screening. Methods This cross-sectional study assesses the service capacity to conduct cervical cancer screening with a sample of 310 medical staff, medical institutions and affiliated township health centers from 20 county-level/district-level areas in 14 Chinese provinces in 2016. Results The county-level/district-level institutions were the main prescreening institutions for cervical cancer screening. More medical staff have become engaged in screening, with a significantly higher amounts in urban than in rural areas (P<0.05). The number of human papillomavirus (HPV) testers grew the fastest (by 225% in urban and 125% in rural areas) over the course of the project. HPV testing took less time than cytology to complete the same number of screening tasks in both urban and rural areas. The proportion of mid-level professionals was the highest among the medical staff, 40.0% in urban and 44.7% in rural areas (P=0.406), and most medical staff had a Bachelor’s degree, accounting for 76.3% in urban and 52.0% in rural areas (P<0.001). In urban areas, 75.0% were qualified medical staff, compared with 68.0% in rural areas, among which the lowest proportion was observed for rural cytology inspectors (22.7%). The medical equipment for cervical pathology diagnosis in urban areas was better (P<0.001). HPV testing equipment was relatively adequate (typing test equipment was 70% in urban areas, and non-typing testing equipment was 70% in rural areas). Conclusions The service capacity of cervical cancer screening is insufficient for the health needs of the Chinese population. HPV testing might be an optimal choice to fill the needs of cervical cancer screening given current Chinese medical health service capacity.