One in three people don't attend cervical screening!

[DomesticatedZombie]

Quick, everyone, get your DH and DSs and DFs to the doctors toot suite!

www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/health/scarlett-moffatt-cervical-screening-nhs-23100780

New NHS campaign for cervical screening seems to be scared to use the word 'woman' too much.

A whole video in which the word 'woman' is not used. And an article that uses the word 'people' with some desperation.

'The full findings from the new survey reveal in the North East show that more than half of people said they were nervous about their most recent smear test'

I'm not surprised that hear that men would be nervous, tbh.

[Borka]

I also think having a drag queen in the video confuses things - although she's actually a woman (with a cervix) it's not obvious from how she looks.

[DomesticatedZombie]

It did make me roll my eyes, Borka. Because we can't talk about women without including a caricature of femininity, can we? It's painfully obvious that 'inclusion' is front and centre of this campaign, far more important than communicating with women is appeasing genderists.

[yearsago]

There is a big difference between "1 in 3 people" and "1 in 3 women". that should be so obvious to anyone writing about health statistics. Or indeed any statistics. It is so frustratingly stupid isn't it.

[GCAcademic]

If two out of three people are attending cervical screening, that's a lot of NHS time that's being wasted.

[Whitefire]

Surely average Jo(e) will read "women and others with a cervix" and be like "WTF?" Using people just makes the whole thing read as a load of nonsense.*

*By nonsense I mean the statistics have no clarity.

[RoyalCorgi]

@yearsago

There is a big difference between "1 in 3 people" and "1 in 3 women". that should be so obvious to anyone writing about health statistics. Or indeed any statistics. It is so frustratingly stupid isn't it.

Exactly. And if anyone should know this, it's the NHS. It's so depressing.

[Cailleach1]

Don't think the OH went for his; or my male offspring. I'll have to tell them to present themselves in order to better those statistics. I now know as people, they are in danger of cervical cancer too. So, it won't stupidly waste anyone's time and dilute the message from women at all. After all, it would only be women who are in danger of dying.

Conversely, I need to clog up attend the services for prostate screening. I have no knowledge about being born with one or if it could have been removed. How many 'people' don't present for that, I wonder? They are not diluting that though, are they? Because it would be men who die.

[DomesticatedZombie]

OMG I've never been for prostate screening. I'll call right away.

[EmbarrassingHadrosaurus]

And if anyone should know this, it's the NHS. It's so depressing.

Every email I have from an NHS person has their pronouns. I'd say that this is also true for video platforms where they put their pronouns with their names on MS Teams, Zoom etc.

[DomesticatedZombie]

Is that required of them, I wonder?

[EmbarrassingHadrosaurus]

@yearsago

There is a big difference between "1 in 3 people" and "1 in 3 women". that should be so obvious to anyone writing about health statistics. Or indeed any statistics. It is so frustratingly stupid isn't it.

We already have a problem with adult numeracy levels in the UK. The performance of a random sample of MPs that the Royal Statistical Society recently tested for their statistical skills was underwhelming and quite troubling.

twitter.com/RoyalStatSoc/status/1492061634562510855

I'm very concerned that obfuscating headlines and stories like these further undermine the public understanding of numbers and their application.

[Melroses]

One in three people is surely a bit of an over high statistic. Who are they screening that they shouldn't be. 🤔

[Regularsizedrudy]

Do campaigns re prostate health refer to men or people I wonder?

[EmbarrassingHadrosaurus]

@Regularsizedrudy

Do campaigns re prostate health refer to men or people I wonder?

Men. Because otherwise it would be confusing for them.

Cervical cancer campaigns are totally different for unknown and unshared reasons

[CrossPurposes]

I saw a poster for this campaign in my gym today and it clearly said women which heartened me. I wish I had taken a photo.

[MrsTerryPratchett]

I like maths. And women's rights. So this is doubly irritating. If 1 in 3 people miss cervical screening, then all the women are going. And some men. But that's not true, is it? It's 1 in 3 women.

I'd bet quite serious money that women with ESL, lower literacy, generally marginalised women are missing more. Just exactly the women who might need very clear English (and other language) information.

[BurgerAttack]

As well as the nonsense about "people", it's annoying to see ol' Moffatt there giving out that her life was in danger and that she was saved by her smear test.

Sounds like what happened is that screening showed up some cells which may at some point in the far distant future become cancerous but were unlikely to do so, and that she had them removed, thus risking future cervical erosion, miscarriage and spontaneous early labour should she become pregnant in the future.

[EmbarrassingHadrosaurus]

As well as the nonsense about "people", it's annoying to see ol' Moffatt there giving out that her life was in danger and that she was saved by her smear test.

And that. I didn't even vaguely want to go near the misinterpretation and misinformation around various pieces of NHS screening material. I know Margaret McCartney and others have done a fair amount around this.

[BurgerAttack]

Are women campaigning on the subject? Excellent. I have experienced all three problems, which maybe I would have done anyway had I not had the cells in question removed - I will never know - but the risks were certainly not explained to me prior to having the procedure done.

[DomesticatedZombie]

@EmbarrassingHadrosaurus

As well as the nonsense about "people", it's annoying to see ol' Moffatt there giving out that her life was in danger and that she was saved by her smear test.

And that. I didn't even vaguely want to go near the misinterpretation and misinformation around various pieces of NHS screening material. I know Margaret McCartney and others have done a fair amount around this.

Oh, I'd be quite interested to read that! Will have a look for it.

[littlbrowndog]

The adverts were all over telly and radio in Scotland

It was people with a cervix

Not women people

Women in Scotland are not getting smear tests done. The rates have gone down

Maybe it’s because of the language used. Not every women knows they have a cervix

Just use the word women then we would kbow it’s speaking to women not just a random message

[OldCrone]

@EmbarrassingHadrosaurus

As well as the nonsense about "people", it's annoying to see ol' Moffatt there giving out that her life was in danger and that she was saved by her smear test.

And that. I didn't even vaguely want to go near the misinterpretation and misinformation around various pieces of NHS screening material. I know Margaret McCartney and others have done a fair amount around this.

Margaret McCartney has quite an interesting take on mass screening programmes. I remember reading articles by her like this one a few years ago.

www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/why-i-m-saying-no-to-a-smear-7577967.html

She points out that there can be a lot of false positive results and people can end up having treatment for early changes which would never progress to cancer. ('People' is used deliberately there because she discusses bowel and prostate screening as well as cervical and breast screening.)

[IntermittentParps]

Exactly. And if anyone should know this, it's the NHS. It's so depressing.
TBF isn't it the article that uses 'people', not the NHS itself?

[CousinKrispy]

I was recently invited to mine and the NHS letter referred to women throughout.

[DomesticatedZombie]

That's the article I read, OldCrone. I also seem to remember Germaine Greer writing extensively on smears in 'Whole Woman', talking about the logistics and mechanics of how they are carried out.