Use of cervical and breast cancer screening among women with and without functional limitations--United States, 1994-1995.

The national health objectives for 2000 include increasing to at least 85% the proportion of all women aged > or =18 years who have received a Papanicolaou test within the preceding 3 years and increasing to at least 80% the proportion of women aged > or =40 years who have ever had a mammogram. However, national data on breast and cervical cancer screening specifically for women with disabilities is limited. During 1994-1995, CDC, 12 other federal agencies, and one foundation sponsored a disability survey as a special supplement to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). In 1994, questions on breast and cervical cancer screening were included in the NHIS Health Promotion/Disease Prevention Year 2000 Objectives Supplement. This report provides the findings of an analysis of these linked data, which indicate that women with functional limitations (FLs) were less likely than women without FLs to have had a Pap test within the previous 3 years, and women aged > or =65 years with three or more FLs were less likely to have ever had a mammogram compared with similarly aged women with no limitations.