Human papillomavirus (HPV) testing on self-collected specimens: perceptions among HIV positive women attending rural and urban clinics in South Africa

The Pan African Medical Journal

Jennifer Smith¹  Karin Richter²  Denise Evans³  Celeste Sauls³  Cindy Firnhaber⁴  Kay Mahomed⁴ 

[1] Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, United States of America;Department of Medical Virology, University of Pretoria, National Health Laboratory Service, Pretoria, South Africa;Health Economics and Epidemiology Research Office, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa;Right to Care, Johannesburg, South Africa;

关键词: hiv-positive women;    self-collection;    human papillomavirus;    acceptability;    cervical cancer;    resource-limited setting;    south africa;   

DOI  :  10.11604/pamj.2014.17.189.3454

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

INTRODUCTION: Cervical cancer is the most common cancer among women in Sub-Saharan Africa. Cervical cancer is treatable if detected timeously, yet only 20% of South African women have ever been for a Pap smear in their lifetime due to limited access to screening, transport or child care responsibilities. Objective: To evaluate the acceptability of self-collection for cervical cancer screening. We aimed to identify which self-collection device women prefer and if they would consider using them for routine cervical cancer screening. METHODS: HIV-positive women (18 years) from urban and rural HIV clinics were interviewed following an education session on HIV, human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer. Participants were shown three self-collection devices; (i) an Evalyn cervical brush, (ii) a Delphilavager and (iii) a tampon-like plastic wand before completing a short questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 106 women from the urban (n=52) and rural (n=54) clinic were interviewed. Overall 51% of women preferred the cervical brush, while fewer women preferred the tampon-like plastic wand (31%) or lavage sampler (18%). More than 75% of women from the rural site preferred the cervical brush, compared to 22% from the urban site (p=0.001). Women from the urban clinic preferred the tampon-like plastic wand (45%) and then the lavage sampler (33%), as compared to women from the rural clinic (19% and 4%, respectively). CONCLUSION: Women from urban or rural settings had different preferences for the various self-collection devices. Patient self-collection with HPV testing may be an acceptable way to improve coverage to cervical cancer screening in high risk HIV-seropositive women.

【 授权许可】

Unknown