Bmc Med Res Methodol
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Bmc Med Res Methodol · Apr 2012
Using record linkage to monitor equity and variation in screening programmes.
Ecological or survey based methods to investigate screening uptake rates are fraught with many limitations which can be circumvented by record linkage between Census and health services datasets using variations in breast screening attendance as an exemplar. The aim of this current study is to identify the demographic, socio-economic factors associated with uptake of breast screening. ⋯ Linkage of screening data to Census-based longitudinal studies is an efficient and powerful way to increase the evidence base on sources of variation in screening uptake within the UK.