Possible risk factors for patient and provider delay for patients diagnosed via symptomatic presentation (n = 40)
| Patients with patient delay (n = 11), n (%) | Patients without patient delay (n = 29), n (%) | Odds ratio (95% CI) | Patients with provider delay (n = 24), n (%) | Patients without provider delay (n = 16), n (%) | Odds ratio (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symptom | ||||||
| Nature of trigger symptom (n = 40) | ||||||
| Any bleeding symptom | 9 (82) | 24 (83) | 0.9 (0.1 to 11.5) | 20 (83) | 13 (81) | 1.2 (0.1 to 8.1) |
| Bleeding between periods | 2 (18) | 9 (31) | 0.5 (0.0 to 3.2) | 6 (25) | 5 (31) | 0.7 (0.1 to 3.9) |
| Bleeding after sex | 6 (55) | 13 (45) | 1.5 (0.3 to 7.6) | 11 (46) | 8 (50) | 0.8 (0.2 to 3.6) |
| Painful sex | 1 (9) | 4 (14) | 0.6 (0.0 to 7.5) | 3 (13) | 2 (13) | 1.0 (0.1 to 13.4) |
| Vaginal discharge | 3 (27) | 4 (14) | 2.3 (0.3 to 17.0) | 3 (13) | 4 (25) | 0.4 (0.1 to 3.1) |
| Did not think the trigger symptom was serious at the time | 10 (91) | 23 (79) | 2.6 (0.3 to 131.8) | – | – | |
| Demographic factors | ||||||
| Had children | 7 (64) | 12 (41) | 2.5 (0.5 to 14.0) | – | – | |
| Left school aged ≤16 years | 3 (27) | 5 (17) | 1.8 (0.2 to 11.8) | – | – | |
| Other gynaecological factors | ||||||
| Using hormonal contraception or intrauterine device a | 8 (89) | 17 (81) | 1.9 (0.1 to 104.1) | 15 (88) | 10 (77) | 2.3 (0.2 to 30.7) |
| Pregnant at first attendance (n = 3) b | 0 | 3 (10) | – | 3 (13) | 0 | – |
| Reported knowledge of cervical cancer symptoms before diagnosis | ||||||
| Did not know what the symptoms of cervical cancer were | 10 (91) | 20 (69) | 4.5 (0.5 to 216.6) | – | – | |
| Barriers to symptomatic presentationc | ||||||
| Feeling too embarrassed | 6 (55) | 8 (29) | 3.0 (0.6 to 16.2) | – | – | |
| Worrying about not seeing a female doctor | 5 (45) | 8 (29) | 2.1 (0.4 to 11.0) | – | – | |
| Finding it difficult to get an appointment | 6 (55) | 10 (37) | 2.0 (0.4 to 10.7) | – | – | |
| Not wanting to waste the GP’s time | 5 (45) | 11 (39) | 1.3 (0.2 to 6.5) | – | – | |
| Being too busy to make an appointment | 6 (55) | 14 (48) | 1.3 (0.3 to 6.6) | – | – | |
| Worrying about what the GP might find | 2 (18) | 5 (18) | 1.0 (0.1 to 7.8) | – | – | |
a Percentages calculated excluding pregnant patients from the denominator.
b Percentages calculated using the number of pregnant patients as the denominator.
c Missing values for some patients, therefore percentages were calculated using the number of patients who answered each question as the denominator.