In Queensland, the delivery of population-based screening programs aims to increase early detection, prevent illness, improve mortality, and therefore reduce impact on health services for specialised care.1
Early detection improves health outcomes for certain cancers in adults and for conditions present at birth, such as genetic and metabolic conditions, and hearing problems, in newborns.
Cancer screening
From 2013 to 2020, cancer screening participation trends in Queensland have slowly decreased (Figure 1). Improving screening participation in Queensland has been a priority. The bowel cancer program has recently changed to include alternative methods of accessing a screening kit and self-collection for cervical screening is now available to all participants to improve accessibility and remove barriers to testing.
Figure 1: Queensland trends in national cancer screening programs participation
| Source | Year | Participation rate (%) |
|---|---|---|
| BreastScreen Australia, Queensland, (Ages 50–74 years) | 2014-2015 | 56.7 |
| BreastScreen Australia, Queensland, (Ages 50–74 years) | 2015-2016 | 56.5 |
| BreastScreen Australia, Queensland, (Ages 50–74 years) | 2016-2017 | 55.6 |
| BreastScreen Australia, Queensland, (Ages 50–74 years) | 2017-2018 | 55.1 |
| BreastScreen Australia, Queensland, (Ages 50–74 years) | 2018-2019 | 54.9 |
| BreastScreen Australia, Queensland, (Ages 50–74 years) | 2019-2020 | 52.3 |
| BreastScreen Australia, Queensland, (Ages 50–74 years) | 2020-2021 | 52.1 |
| National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, Queensland, (Ages 50–74 years) | 2014-2015 | 38.1 |
| National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, Queensland, (Ages 50–74 years) | 2015-2016 | 40.4 |
| National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, Queensland, (Ages 50–74 years) | 2016-2017 | 40.8 |
| National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, Queensland, (Ages 50–74 years) | 2017-2018 | 40.8 |
| National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, Queensland, (Ages 50–74 years) | 2018-2019 | 41.6 |
| National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, Queensland, (Ages 50–74 years) | 2019-2020 | 41.1 |
| National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, Queensland, (Ages 50–74 years) | 2020-2021 | 37.5 |
| National Cervical Screening Program, Queensland, Three Year Rolling Average (Target Age) | 2013-2015 | 66.8 |
| National Cervical Screening Program, Queensland, Three Year Rolling Average (Target Age) | 2014-2016 | 65.6 |
| National Cervical Screening Program, Queensland, Three Year Rolling Average (Target Age) | 2015-2017 | 64.2 |
| National Cervical Screening Program, Queensland, Three Year Rolling Average (Target Age) | 2016-2018 | 63.1 |
| National Cervical Screening Program, Queensland, Three Year Rolling Average (Target Age) | 2017-2019 | 64.2 |
| National Cervical Screening Program, Queensland, Three Year Rolling Average (Target Age) | 2018-2020 | 62.8 |
Newborn screening
Newborn bloodspot screening (NBS) is recognised around the world as a successful population health screening program, helping children avoid lifelong disability or death from a range of serious conditions.
References
- Myers L., Goodwin B., Ralph N. & March S. 2022. A health action process approach for developing invitee endorsed interventions to increase mail-out bowel cancer screening. Applied psychology. Health and well-being. 14(3): 776–794. doi: 10.1111/aphw.12346.