| HEALTH SERVICES UTILIZATION |
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The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that women who are or have been sexually active have a Pap smear, a screening test for cervical cancer, at least once every three years. The Task Force also recommends that all women aged 40 and older have a screening mammogram every one to two years to detect breast cancer. In 1998, the majority of women of all racial and ethnic groups had received a Pap smear within the past three years and a mammogram within the past two years. Black non-Hispanic women were the most likely ((83 percent) and Asian/Pacific Islander women were the least likely (67 percent) to have reported receiving a Pap smear in the past three years. Among women aged 40 and over, White non- Hispanic women were most likely (68 percent) to have had a mammogram in the past two years, while American Indian/Native Alaska women were the least likely (45 percent) to have received this preventive service.
Receipt of Pap smears and mammograms is also associated with income and education levels. In 1998, 73 percent of women aged 40 and older with middle or high incomes had received a mammogram, as compared to 54 percent of near poor women and 50 percent of poor women. Similar trends were seen for receipt of Pap smears, with 83 percent of women with middle or high incomes, 73 percent of near poor women, and 69 percent of poor women having had this test in the past three years. Women with at least some college were more likely to have received both mammograms and Pap smears than female high school graduates, followed by women with less than a high school education.