Acceptability and Usability of Self-Collected Sampling for HPV Testing Among African-American Women Living in the Mississippi Delta

Abstract

Background HPV DNA testing has been shown to be an effective approach to cervical cancer screening, and self-collection sampling for HPV testing could be a potential alternative to Pap test, provided that women who tested positive by any method get timely follow-up and care. This feasibility study examined acceptability and usability of self-collected sampling for HPV testing among African American (AA) women in the Mississippi Delta in order to inform the development of interventions to promote cervical cancer screening in this population. Methods The study consisted of two phases. Phase I consisted of eight focus groups (N=87) with AA women to explore knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about cervical cancer and HPV infection as well as acceptability of self-collected sampling for HPV testing. In Phase II, we examined the usability of this technology through one discussion group (N=9). The Health Belief Model guided data collection and analysis. Results Although participants perceived themselves as susceptible to cervical cancer and acknowledged its severity, there was a lack of knowledge of the link between HPV and cervical cancer, and they expressed a number of misconceptions. The most frequent barriers to screening included embarrassment, discomfort, and fear of the results. Women in both phases were receptive to self-collection sampling for HPV testing. All participants in the usability phase expressed that self-collection was easy and they did not experience any difficulties. Conclusion Self-collection for HPV testing is an acceptable and feasible method among AA women in the Mississippi Delta to complement current cytology cervical cancer screening programs.

Determinants of women¿s likelihood of vaginal self-sampling for human papillomavirus to screen for cervical cancer in Taiwan: a cross-sectional study

“…Our findings are consistent with previous findings that willingness to self-sample for HPV was a determinant of future HPV self-sampling [9]. Willingness to self-sample for HPV is a logical predictor for likelihood of HPV selfsampling because without willingness, a health behavior will not occur [30].…”

“…Cervical cancer screening has traditionally been done by physicians using the Pap test, which many women perceive as uncomfortable and embarrassing [3][4][5][6][7]. A potential alternative to the Pap test in Western countries has been vaginal self-sampling for human papillomavirus (HPV) [5,8,9], the causative agent for most cervical cancers [10]. HPV self-sampling is easy to perform, less painful, less embarrassing, and less anxiety provoking than the Pap test [11,12].…”

Comparison of Detection Sensitivity for Human Papillomavirus between Self-collected Vaginal Swabs and Physician-collected Cervical Swabs by Electrochemical DNA Chip

“…Moreover, the cost of testing may discourage patients from choosing to screen for HPV (Oranratanaphan et al, 2014). To improve screening coverage, self-administered sample collection could be an alternative to Pap smear test (Nilyanimit et al, 2013;Scarinci et al, 2013). Previous studies examined the sensitivity and predictive value of HPV detection by comparing self-collected and physician-collected samples for HPV screening.…”

Self-Collection Tools for Routine Cervical Cancer Screening: A Review

“…Studies have shown that using self-sampling method increases participation of non-responders in screening programs (Bosgraaf et al, 2014a;Piana et al, 2011;Sancho-Garnier et al, 2013). Self-sampling samples have also been shown to be suitable for HPV testing (Sancho-Garnier et al, 2013;Scarinci et al, 2013;Tamalet et al, 2013;Othman and Othman, 2014) even in a in a large-scale (Harper et al, 1999).…”

“…Self-sampling is more attractive for the non-attendees in countries which have organized screening and from rural women in countries which have limited resources (Sancho-Garnier et al, 2013). It can be an alternative method to women who are reluctant to undergo pelvic examination due to shyness (Scarinci et al, 2013) or too busy looking after the family which is often the case amongst Asian women (Othman and Rebolj, 2009). In addition, it may reduce cost on the 'patients' and on 'hospitals' as no visits to clinicians are needed (Darlin et al, 2013;Scarinci et al, 2013).…”