Objective

This study aimed to determine cervical cancer screening rates among women with severe mental illness.

Methods

California Medicaid administrative records (2010-2011) for 31,308 women with severe mental illness were examined. Participants received specialty mental health services and were not dually eligible for Medicare. Poisson models assessed association between selected predictors and cervical cancer screening.

Results

Overall, 20.2% of women with severe mental illness received cervical cancer screening during the one-year period. Compared with white women, Asian women (adjusted risk ratio [ARR]=1.23), black women (ARR=1.10), and Hispanic women (ARR=1.11) (p<.001) were more likely to have been screened. Women ages 28-37 were more likely than those ages 18-27 to have been screened (ARR=1.31, p<.001). Evidence of other health care use was the strongest predictor of screening (ARR=3.07, p<.001).

Conclusions

Most women in the sample were not regularly screened for cervical cancer. Cervical cancer screening for this high-risk population should be prioritized.