Cancer screening coverage of south Asian women in Wakefield.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the cervical and breast screening coverage of south Asian women in Wakefield, compared with other city residents.
DESIGN: Pairwise measurement of screening histories of women whose names appeared to be south Asian, and of non-Asian women matched by date of birth and general practice. DATA SOURCE: Computerised records of screening histories held by West Yorkshire Central Services Agency, for the eight general practices in central Wakefield.
RESULTS: 67% of south Asians and 75% of non-Asians had acceptable (not overdue) cervical screening histories (chi(2)=13.75, p<0.001). 53% of south Asians and 78% of non-Asians had acceptable breast screening histories (chi(2)=8.5, p<0.01)
CONCLUSION: Interventions should be designed to improve coverage for breast screening among south Asian women. The need for such interventions for cervical screening is equivocal.