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Background: The burden of illness of cervical cancer has not decreased enough in developing countries. For that reason is important to improve coverage, access and effectiveness of cervical cancer screening programs. The objective of this paper is to analyze women's access to the cervical cytology programme of the Secretary of Health of Medellín (Colombia)., Methods: An analysis was made of 1,519 records of women from a cross-sectional study conducted in an urban area of Medellin (Colombia). Descriptive analysis was conducted and a Logit model was estimated for analysing recent cervical cytology (cytology performed less than 36 months prior to the survey)., Results: 68.7% of women had a recent cytology, 17.2% did not have recent cytology and 14.2% of women attended for the first time to the service. The probability of having a recent cytology increased with age, women with family history of cervical cancer, women with personal history of sexually transmitted infections, women with some education and women who are (or were) married or in a stable union., Conclusions: The demand for cytology appears to be concentrated; a limited number of women assist frequently while others don't practice it or stop assisting.

Background: The displacement of populations as the result of an armed conflict generally entails a worsening of the living and health conditions of those undergoing such a displacement. This paper is aimed at analyzing the health-related needs perceived by men and women displaced by the armed conflict and their main strategies to address those needs., Methods: A qualitative study was carried out by means of semi-structured individual interviews to 31 displaced men and women in the transition stage. A narrative analysis of the contents was conducted, segmenting the information by age and sex. The area under study was made up of five localities in the city of Bogotá., Results: The negative effects on their mental health and psychosocial stability, access to food and, to a lesser degree, gastrointestinal and respiratory disorders, are the main health problems reported by both groups of informants. The difficulty of accessing health care services comes up as an added problem. The precarious economic situation underlies the health care-related needs and problems. To solve their health problems, in addition to the health care services, they employ other strategies within their reach. Expressed needs are coherent with the problems perceived. Some differences between women and men and age groups were observed concerning the definition of the problems and employed strategies., Conclusion: In the health field, actions are required in order to improve their access to services in addition to specific strategies for the psychosocial rehabilitation of the displaced population which take into account the differences existing within this group.