Activity: latest results
Bowel cancer screening (NBCSP):
- 1,252,000 invitations to participate were made in the NBCSP in the June quarter 2020.
- 354,000 bowel screening kits were returned in the June quarter 2020.
Cervical screening (NCSP):
- 129,000 cervical screening tests were performed in the June quarter 2020.
- 56,000 of these tests were performed in June 2020.
During 2020, screening program activity was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information about the impact of COVID-19 on Australia’s cancer screening programs,see the AIHW report Cancer screening and COVID-19 in Australia.
Participation: latest results
Bowel cancer screening (NBCSP):
- Almost 2.5 million of the 5.7 million people aged 50–74 who were invited to screen in 2018–2019 participated.
- This was a participation rate of 44%.
- Participation was higher among women (46% of all women invited) than men (42%).
BreastScreen Australia:
- Almost 1.9 million women aged 50–74 participated in 2018–2019.
- This was a participation rate of 55%.
Cervical screening (NCSP):
- 3.1 million people aged 25–74 had a cervical screening test in 2018–2019.
- This was a participation rate of 46%. This is an estimate of participation, due to the fact that only 2 years of data are available.
- Participation in the new 5-year program cannot be accurately reported until there are 5 years of data available.
What is included in this report?
This report includes the latest available activity and participation data for the 3 cancer screening programs. Data in this report will be updated quarterly.
The current report includes:
- activity data up to the June quarter 2020 for bowel and cervical cancer screening
- participation data for the 2-year period from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2019 (2018–2019) for all 3 programs.
In this report, screening activity data are presented by month and quarter. Each quarter covers 3 months of the year and is identified with reference to the last month in the quarter (for example, the March quarter comprises January, February, and March).
Participation by geography is also presented. Exploring the results across different geographical areas can help to identify where resources are needed to improve equity, accessibility and participation in cancer screening programs.
What are the other ways of measuring cancer screening program performance?
Participation is one of many indicators used to evaluate the performance of Australia’s national cancer screening programs against their aims.
The full set of performance indicators are reported in each program’s annual monitoring reports, available from the AIHW’s cancer screening reports page.
The activity data presented in this report complement performance indicator reporting.