Cervical Cancer Evaluation Measures

Once a company has conducted assessment and planning for cervical cancer screening programs, and developed the specific tasks of implementation for these programs, it is time to develop the evaluation plan. This evaluation plan should be in place before any program implementation has begun.  

Metrics for worker productivity, health care costs, heath outcomes, and organizational change allow measurement of the beginning (baseline), middle (process), and results (outcome) of workplace health programs. It is not necessary to use all these metrics for evaluating programs. Some information may be difficult or costly to collect, or may not fit the operational structure of a company. These lists are only suggested approaches that may be useful in designing an evaluation plan.

These measures are designed for employee group assessment. They are not intended for examining an individual’s progress over time, which would raise concerns of employee confidentiality. For employer purposes, individual-level measures should be collected anonymously and only reported (typically by a third party administrator) in the aggregate, because the company’s major concerns are overall changes in productivity, health care costs, and employee satisfaction.

In general, data from the previous 12 months will provide sufficient baseline information and can be used in establishing the program goals and objectives in the planning phase, and in assessing progress toward goals in the evaluation phase. Ongoing measurements every 6 to 12 months after programs begin are usually appropriate measurement intervals, but measurement timing should be adapted to the expectations of the specific program.  

Cervical Cancer screening is a valuable early detection tool that can identify cervical cancer at an early stage when treatment is more effective and less expensive.

• In 2007, 12,280 women in the United States were diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 4,021 died from the disease¹
• The direct medical care costs associated with cervical cancer were estimated to equal $1.7 billion in 1996 dollars²
• HPV infection, tobacco use, and obesity increase the risk of cervical cancer
• One study estimated that the cost-effectiveness ratio of a conventional Pap test repeated every three years up to the age of 75 was $11,830 per quality adjusted life year (QALY) saved (in year 2000 dollars).³ In comparison with other preventive interventions and with cost-effectiveness benchmarks, cervical cancer screening is highly cost-effective⁴