Women, providers unhappy with cervical cancer screening changes

the Clinical Advisor take:

Many female patients and health-care providers are unsure about the changes in cervical cancer screening procedure, a survey conducted by the National Association for Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health and HealthyWomen indicates.

"The data in this survey show that women and their health-care providers truly value regular cervical cancer screening and are reluctant to change how often tests that we know to be successful are used," noted Beth Battaglino, RN, president and CEO of HealthyWomen, in a press release.

In an effort to gain a clear understanding of patient and provider attitudes towards the changes in cervical cancer screening procedure, the organizations polled more than 2,000 women and 750 health-care providers.  The responses revealed an overwhelming preference from patients and providers for routine cervical cancer screening and continued use of the Pap test.

Pap tests have been included in annual well-woman exams for years, but in 2012, consensus guidelines changed to recommend screening with the Pap test only or co-testing at various intervals with human papillomavirus (HPV) testing. More than 80% of surveyed clinicians reported that co-testing adds value to their patients health, and 74% believed that the majority of their patients would be most comfortable receiving both Pap and HPV tests versus either test alone.

Among patients, 91% of women responded that they believed a Pap test is important to their overall health and well-being. More than 95% of African-American patients and 91% of Hispanic patients, population groups with the highest rates of cervical cancer, believed the Pap test to be beneficial.

"The Pap and HPV tests each contribute useful and distinct information for evaluating cervical cancer risk," said Gay Johnson, CEO of the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health in a press release.

 "Current practices and the preferences of women and their health-care providers should be considered when evolving guidelines for cervical cancer screening."