Clinic or Self-Sampling for Cervical Cancer Screening
Condition: Cervical Cancer; HPV Infection
MeSH terms: Papillomavirus Infections; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Objective: The aim of this project was to determine the effect of clinic or self-sampling on
      attendance, attitudes, and anxiety in cervical cancer screening.
    

Detailed description: 
      Introduction: Persistent infection with high-risk HPV strains is the main cause of cervical
      cancer.

      Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of clinic or self-sampling on
      cervical cancer screening participation, attitudes and anxiety in women.

      Method: The study was conducted as a descriptive and randomized controlled study between
      October 2022 and December 2023 in Ödemiş ASM No. 2, Ministry of Health, Republic of Turkey.
      The first phase of the study was conducted with 309 women and the "Introductory Information
      Form" and "Attitude Scale for Early Diagnosis of Cervical Cancer" were used to evaluate
      participation and attitudes towards cervical cancer screening. The second phase of the study
      was conducted as a randomized controlled trial with 110 women in the experimental (n=55) and
      control (n=55) groups. The women in the experimental group were trained before the procedure
      and were allowed to take samples from the vaginal area on their own. The women in the control
      group were sampled from the cervical region by the clinician. Both groups were pretested
      before the procedure using the "Descriptive Information Form" and the "State Anxiety
      Inventory" to measure anxiety. After the sampling procedure, the post-test was administered
      to the experimental and control groups using the "State Anxiety Inventory".

      Results: According to the screening method preferences of the women, 34% (n=105) preferred a
      self-test, 18.4% (n=57) preferred a test performed by a clinician in a clinic, 3.9% (n=12)
      preferred no method, and 43.7% (n=135) preferred both methods. In the study, it was found
      that the self-test option increased participation in screening. The mean total score of the
      women was found to be 102.896±5.660. This result shows that women have high positive
      attitudes towards early diagnosis of cervical cancer. In the second stage of the study, it
      was observed that the descriptive characteristics of the experimental and control groups
      showed homogeneous distribution. While there was no significant difference between the
      experimental and control groups in terms of anxiety level in the pretest, it was found that
      the control group had a significantly higher anxiety level in the posttest.

      Conclusion: In this study, it was observed that women had positive attitudes towards cervical
      cancer screening, self-sampling increased participation in screening and decreased anxiety
      levels.
    

Intervention name(s): cervical cancer screening
Intervention type(s): Diagnostic Test
Intervention description(s): The aim of this project was to determine the effect of clinic or self-sampling on attendance, attitudes, and anxiety in cervical cancer screening.
Intervention model: Single Group Assignment
Intervention model description: randomized controlled trial
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Screening
Keywords: cervical cancer; HPV testing