What women want: convenient appointment times for cervical screening tests

Little is known about women's preferred appointment times for cervical screening tests. Data from a postal questionnaire survey were used to compare preferred appointment times with those given. Although 33.4%[95% confidence intervals (CI) 31.8%-35.0%] of respondents received appointments between 10h00 and 11h55, only 17.0% (95% CI 15.3%-18.7%) wanted an appointment at that time. Nineteen per cent (95% CI 17.4%-21.0%) of respondents wanted appointments between 18h00 and 20h00, but only 4.4% (95% CI 3.7%-5.1%) received them. Saturday appointments for cervical screening are not given; however, overall approximately 13% of those surveyed would have preferred a Saturday appointment. Preferred times also varied significantly with age and deprivation category. Further research is required to determine whether appointment times for cervical screening can be tailored to meet these expressed needs, and the impact this has on service provision and uptake.