'Have a Pap smear!' – doctors, their clients, and opportunistic cervical cancer screening

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
L C Chingang ◽  
U Bischof ◽  
G Andall-Brereton ◽  
O Razum

In many middle-income countries with a high incidence of cervical cancer, organized screening programmes with the Pap test are being planned. We assessed the knowledge of, and attitudes towards, cervical screening among 63 doctors and 102 randomly selected community members in Trinidad where screening is still opportunistic. Doctors were well informed about cervical cancer, but not all knew the approximate specificity of the Pap test. Many did not routinely discuss the benefits and disadvantages of screening with their clients. Most women had heard of the Pap test, but only 56% knew its purpose; 25% would not participate in screening, stating reasons such as being in menopause or not having symptoms. More information about the aim of screening and the purpose of the Pap test must be communicated. Doctors need to keep their knowledge on screening up-to-date, and offer counselling that helps women to make an informed decision whether or not to participate in screening.

2020 ◽  
pp. 617-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongyu Zhang ◽  
Shailesh Advani ◽  
Jo Waller ◽  
Ana-Paula Cupertino ◽  
Alejandra Hurtado-de-Mendoza ◽  
...  

PURPOSE Cervical cancer screening is not well implemented in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Mobile health (mHealth) refers to utilization of mobile technologies in health promotion and disease management. We aimed to qualitatively synthesize published articles reporting the impact of mHealth on cervical cancer screening–related health behaviors. METHODS Three reviewers independently reviewed articles with the following criteria: the exposure or intervention of interest was mHealth, including messages or educational information sent via mobile telephone or e-mail; the comparison was people not using mHealth technology to receive screening-related information, and studies comparing multiple different mHealth interventional strategies were also eligible; the primary outcome was cervical cancer screening uptake, and secondary outcomes included awareness, intention, and knowledge of screening; appropriate research designs included randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental or observational research; and the study was conducted in an LMIC. RESULTS Of the 8 selected studies, 5 treated mobile telephone or message reminders as the exposure or intervention, and 3 compared the effects of different messages on screening uptake. The outcomes were diverse, including screening uptake (n = 4); health beliefs regarding the Papanicolaou (Pap) test (n = 1); knowledge of, attitude toward, and adherence to colpocytologic examination (n = 1); interest in receiving messages about Pap test results or appointment (n = 1); and return for Pap test reports (n = 1). CONCLUSION Overall, our systematic review suggests that mobile technologies, particularly telephone reminders or messages, lead to increased Pap test uptake; additional work is needed to unequivocally verify whether mhealth interventions can improve knowledge regarding cervical cancer. Our study will inform mHealth-based interventions for cervical cancer screening promotion in LMICs.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Fauziah Abdullah ◽  
Michael O’Rorke ◽  
Liam Murray ◽  
Tin Tin Su

Background. Despite the significant burden of cervical cancer, Malaysia like many middle-income countries relies on opportunistic cervical screening as opposed to a more organized population-based program. The aim of this study was to ascertain the effectiveness of a worksite screening initiative upon Papanicolaou smear test (Pap test) uptake among educated working women in Malaysia.Methods. 403 female teachers who never or infrequently attended for a Pap test from 40 public secondary schools in Kuala Lumpur were recruited into a cluster randomized trial conducted between January and November 2010. The intervention group participated in a worksite cervical screening initiative whilst the control group received usual care from the existing cervical screening program. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to determine the impact of the intervention program on Pap smear uptake after 24 weeks of followup.Results. The proportion of women attending for a Pap test was significantly higher in the intervention than in the control group (18.1% versus 10.1%,Pvalue < 0.05) with the worksite screening initiative doubling the Pap smear uptake, adjusted odds ratio 2.44 (95% CI: 1.29–4.62).Conclusion. Worksite health promotion interventions can effectively increase cervical smear uptake rates among eligible workers in middle-income countries. Policy makers and health care providers in these countries should include such interventions in strategies for reducing cervical cancer burden. This trial is registered withIRCT201103186088N1.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte A. Brown ◽  
Johnannes Bogers ◽  
Shaira Sahebali ◽  
Christophe E. Depuydt ◽  
Frans De Prins ◽  
...  

Since the Pap test was introduced in the 1940s, there has been an approximately 70% reduction in the incidence of squamous cell cervical cancers in many developed countries by the application of organized and opportunistic screening programs. The efficacy of the Pap test, however, is hampered by high interobserver variability and high false-negative and false-positive rates. The use of biomarkers has demonstrated the ability to overcome these issues, leading to improved positive predictive value of cervical screening results. In addition, the introduction of HPV primary screening programs will necessitate the use of a follow-up test with high specificity to triage the high number of HPV-positive tests. This paper will focus on protein biomarkers currently available for use in cervical cancer screening, which appear to improve the detection of women at greatest risk for developing cervical cancer, including Ki-67,p16INK4a, BD ProEx C, and Cytoactiv HPV L1.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1639-1644
Author(s):  
Indrani Krishnappa ◽  
Kalyani R. ◽  
Raja Parthiban ◽  
Abhishek Agrawal

Background: Pap smear examination has been universally used as an effective screening tool for early detection of cervical carcinoma. The aim of this study was to assess the utility of Cervical Acid Phosphatase staining as an adjunct to routine Pap smear testing to improvethe sensitivity and specificity of routine Pap smear examination for cervical cancer detection. Materials and Methods: Cervical smears were taken from patients attending the gynecology department and a few cervical cancer screening programmes. One set of slides were alcohol fixed and stained with rapid pap stain and another set of slides were fixed in a special fixative and stained with Cervical Acid Phosphatase -Pap stain. The nuclear features of these Cervical Acid Phosphatase stained dysplastic cells was studied on Pap stain to diagnose cervical intraepithelial lesion/ malignancy. Results: Out of 489 cases included in the study 6 cases were diagnosed with intraepithelial lesion/ malignancy. On Cervical Acid Phosphatase -Pap stain 2 of the cases diagnosed as inflammatory smears on pap stain showed Cervical Acid Phosphatase positivity and thus were re evaluated. Mild nuclear atypia was observed in the Cervical Acid Phosphatase positive cells and these cases were diagnosed as Low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion and later biopsy proven to be Cervical intraepithelial Neoplasia I. Therefore Cervical Acid Phosphatase -Pap test was 100% sensitive and specific for cervical cancer detection. Conclusions: With 100% sensitivity Cervical Acid Phosphatase -Pap test satisfies the criteria of an efficient screening test.


Author(s):  
Parth H. Vyas ◽  
Kanchan Dhadwe ◽  
Harsha A. Shah ◽  
Hiral M. Dave ◽  
Ashwin A. Shah

Background: Carcinoma of the uterine cervix is a major health problem faced by the Indian women. Regular cervical cytological examination by all sexually active women can prevent the occurrence of carcinoma cervix. Early detection of cervical cancer is possible with Pap smear tests. Methods: Women above 25 years of age, living in study area and want to participate in study were included. Total 2352 women were enrolled in study. House to house visits were conducted in all the village area by using simple random sampling method. Information about cervical cancer was given. Pap test for cervical cancer screening was carried out by gynaecologist. Cytological examination and confirmation was done by pathologists.Results: A total of 3001 women had attended village level IEC session and out that, 2352 (78.4%) women took part in the screening program. Out of these 2352 women, 2007 women (85.3% compliance) had given consent for physical cervical examination and Pap smear. The incidence of cervical cancer was 0.2% on the basis of clinical examination and biopsy.Conclusions: Higher compliance for undergoing vaginal examination and Pap test shows the positive health seeking behaviour of the women but for that, strong IEC and sensitization about the disease must be done to improve the participation. Sensitivity of Pap test was poor and couldn’t find true positive cases.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 4-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sujha Subramanian ◽  
Rengaswamy Sankaranarayanan ◽  
Pulikkottil Okkuru Esmy ◽  
Jissa Vinoda Thulaseedharan ◽  
Rajaraman Swaminathan ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giannoula D. Bakogianni ◽  
Spiridoula C. Goutsou ◽  
Maria V. Liti ◽  
Sophia I. Rizopoulou ◽  
Konstantinos M. Nikolakopoulos ◽  
...  

Abstract Cervical cancer is a major cause of death in the developing world. The Papanicolaou (Pap) smear is a screening test that detects abnormal cells before they advance to cancer. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of cervical cancer screening among Greek students. A sample of 472 female students participated in the present study. Interviews were performed using a structured questionnaire. Of the participants, 94.07% were aware of the Pap test and 67.34% reported that the Pap test should be done yearly. The majority of them were informed about cervical cancer screening test by their parents. Of the participants, 44.82% had received Pap testing at least once in their life, whereas 36.2% had a Pap test yearly. The reported mean time of the respondents’ first Pap test was 13.3±10.6 months after their first sexual intercourse. The reasons given by the participants for being noncompliant were lack of appreciation of the importance of the screening, embarrassment, fear, and high cost. Of the participants, 9.23% declared that those who had been administered the human papillomavirus vaccine do not need a Pap test. The results highlight the need for additional education and health promotion regarding cervical cancer screening.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document