Cervical cancer screening adherence across Europe: between long‑term increases and recent decreases
Abstract
Background: Cervical cancer screening is a fundamental tool for oncological prevention. The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions to screening programmes across Europe, potentially affecting coverage of the target population. This study analyzes the trends of cancer screening adherence from 2000 to 2024 across European countries, with a specific focus on the impact of the pandemic.
Methods: Data on cervical cancer screening adherence from EU and EFTA countries were collected from Eurostat database. Overall, twelve countries have at least ≥15 years of data (8 from 2000 to 2023 and 4 from 2000 to 2024). Joinpoint regression was used to analyze trends by the identification of the Annual Percent Change (APC) and Average Annual Percent Change (AAPC) over time.
Results: In the last year available, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Slovenia reported the highest coverage (>70%), while Hungary and Italy recorded the lowest values (<45%). The pandemic impact is evident most of the countries, with significant declines observed around 2020–2021, especially in Latvia (-14,86%), Slovakia (-12,81%), the Netherlands (-11,51%) and Italy (-11,17%). Most countries show post-pandemic recovery trends, with the strongest rebounds in Slovakia (significant APC 2021–2023: +10.49), Estonia (significant APC 2020–2023: +6.03) and Hungary (significant APC 2021–2024: +3.40). The Netherlands represent an exception, where the decline appears structural and predates the pandemic (significant APC 2014–2023: −2.04).
Conclusions: Marked disparities between countries are reported during the study period, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to support organized and coordinated screening programmes, particularly in contexts with structurally low uptake or long-term declining trends. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a reduction in cervical screening coverage across most European countries analyzed, with recovery generally beginning from 2021.
Key messages: • Analyzing trends in cervical cancer screening uptake provides crucial insights for public health planning, particularly in understanding the impact of major disruptive events.
• COVID-19 caused varying impacts on cervical cancer screening trends across European countries; understanding health system responses is key to strengthening resilience of screening programs.
Related
- Healthcare access, cervical cancer screening, and urogenital health among masculine-presenting people assigned female at birth in Thailand: The HAFFU Project
- Perceived barriers and facilitators influencing cervical and breast cancer screening among healthcare professionals in the Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana: An explanatory mixed-methods study
- Facilitating HPV DNA test-based screening for cervical cancer in public health settings of India: learnings from the Amethi project
- Understanding cervical cancer screening disparities among Somali women in Southeast Minnesota: a community-engaged mixed methods study
- Assessing an educational strategy to improve community health provider-led provision of cervical cancer screening services in western Kenya: A secondary analysis of the Elimisha-HPV cluster-randomized controlled trial
BibTeX
@article{veltro2026cervical,
title = {{Cervical cancer screening adherence across Europe: between long‑term increases and recent decreases}},
author = {L Veltro and T Scirocco and S Mao and C Giordano and W Ricciardi and L Villani},
journal = {The European Journal of Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.064},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.064},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Cervical cancer screening adherence across Europe: between long‑term increases and recent decreases
AU - L Veltro
AU - T Scirocco
AU - S Mao
AU - C Giordano
AU - W Ricciardi
AU - L Villani
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - The European Journal of Public Health
DO - 10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.064
UR - https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.064
AB - Background: Cervical cancer screening is a fundamental tool for oncological prevention. The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions to screening programmes across Europe, potentially affecting coverage of the target population. This study analyzes the trends of cancer screening adherence from 2000 to 2024 across European countries, with a specific focus on the impact of the pandemic. Methods: Data on cervical cancer screening adherence from EU and EFTA countries were collected from Eurostat database. Overall, twelve countries have at least ≥15 years of data (8 from 2000 to 2023 and 4 from 2000 to 2024). Joinpoint regression was used to analyze trends by the identification of the Annual Percent Change (APC) and Average Annual Percent Change (AAPC) over time. Results: In the last year available, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Slovenia reported the highest coverage (>70%), while Hungary and Italy recorded the lowest values (<45%). The pandemic impact is evident most of the countries, with significant declines observed around 2020–2021, especially in Latvia (-14,86%), Slovakia (-12,81%), the Netherlands (-11,51%) and Italy (-11,17%). Most countries show post-pandemic recovery trends, with the strongest rebounds in Slovakia (significant APC 2021–2023: +10.49), Estonia (significant APC 2020–2023: +6.03) and Hungary (significant APC 2021–2024: +3.40). The Netherlands represent an exception, where the decline appears structural and predates the pandemic (significant APC 2014–2023: −2.04). Conclusions: Marked disparities between countries are reported during the study period, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to support organized and coordinated screening programmes, particularly in contexts with structurally low uptake or long-term declining trends. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a reduction in cervical screening coverage across most European countries analyzed, with recovery generally beginning from 2021. Key messages: • Analyzing trends in cervical cancer screening uptake provides crucial insights for public health planning, particularly in understanding the impact of major disruptive events. • COVID-19 caused varying impacts on cervical cancer screening trends across European countries; understanding health system responses is key to strengthening resilience of screening programs.
SN - 1101-1262
SN - 1464-360X
ER -