Reasons for not attending

• Most commonly, respondents have not attended a cervical screening appointment in the last three years as they have not been invited during this time (35%). Note: any respondent who had not, or were not sure if they had, attended a screening in the last three years were shown this question. This resulted in many respondents explaining that they have not missed an appointment, with some clarifying that they have not been due (or invited) in this time, or simply that they could not remember if they had been to an appointment in the last three years
• Not seeing reminders, feeling anxious or worried, having a previous bad experience and having difficulty booking are key reasons for non-attendance

This chart shows the reasons why respondents did not attend their most recent cervical screening:
35% say they haven’t been invited in the last three years or more
11% say they don’t remember seeing any reminders about it
9% say they were anxious or worried about going
6% say they have had a previous bad experience related to a cervical screen
6% say it was difficult to book the appointment
4% say they didn’t want to go
4% say they have never been to a cervical screening appointment
4% say their menstrual cycle
4% say the appointment wasn’t at a convenient time
3% say other responsibilities e.g. childcare, caring, pets
1% say they lost the appointment letter/ message
1% say they forgot on the day
1% say it takes too long/ appointments don’t run on time
1% say getting there is difficult
1% say the cost of getting there
Less than 1% say no parking
32% say they did not attend for another reason

‘Other’ reasons