The Acceptability of Self-Sampled Screening for HPV DNA: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Description

Objective: To examine whether self-sampled cervical screening for human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA is acceptable and whether women prefer self-sampling to clinician-based sampling

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Data sources: A total of 37 primary studies were obtained through a comprehensive search of six electronic bibliographic databases from 1986 to 2014 and other sources. Search keywords included “HPV,” “screening,” “DNA testing,” “vaginal testing,” “self-collected specimen,” “self-collected sample,” “self-sampling,” “self-screening,” “preferences,” and “acceptability.”

Review methods: Studies eligible for analysis included those that had participants perform self-sampling, evaluated participant acceptance of or preference for self-sampled vaginal HPV DNA, and reported data to calculate an effect size. There were no exclusion criteria for publication status or geographical location. Meta-analytic methods were used to quantitatively synthesise effect sizes across studies.

Results: The 37 studies included 18,516 female participants from 24 countries across five continents. Overall, there was a high level of acceptability of self-sampling among the participants. Participants reported preference for self-sampling over clinician sampling due to attractive characteristics such as ease and privacy.

Conclusions: The overall acceptability of self-sampled cervical screening, coupled with economic and effective care, provides opportunities for expanding screening services. Importantly, this can provide a creative screening alternative for women who do not participate in traditional cytological screening and may ultimately reduce health disparities and prevent cervical disease.

Citation