Factors related to hysterectomy in women with physical and mobility disabilities

This paper aims to identify self-report data for hysterectomy prevalence and to explore its correlated factors among women with physical and mobility disabilities in Taiwan. This paper was part of a larger study, “Survey on Preventive Health Utilizations of People with Physical and Mobility Disability in Taiwan”, which is a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2009. We recruited 502 women aged ≧15 years who were officially registered as having physical and mobility disabilities. The results show that 11.3% of women with physical and mobility disabilities accepted hysterectomy surgery and that hysterectomy prevalence was increasing by age: 7% (45–49 years), 9.7% (50–54 years), 26.3% (55–59 years), 31% (60–64 years) and 17.6% (≧65 years). Multilevel logistic regression analyses revealed that being ≧50 years or older (OR = 4.65, 95% CI = 1.79–12.064), having had cervical cancer (OR = 17.2, 95% CI = 3.5–84.47) and not having a Pap smear test within the last 3 years (OR = 2.79, 95% CI = 1.194–6.561) were more likely to accept a hysterectomy operation than their counterparts. This study suggests that future studies should analyze hospital data and assesses long-term changes to understand an area's hysterectomy profile and correlated factors for these types of vulnerable populations.

► We present the information of hysterectomy prevalence and to explore its correlated factors among women with physical and mobility disability. ► There were 11.3% of women accepted hysterectomy surgery, and was generally increasing by age. ► The older age, had a cervical cancer, and without using Pap smear test were more likely to accept a hysterectomy operation than their counterparts.