HPV sampling options for cervical cancer screening: preferences of urban-dwelling Canadians in a changing paradigm

Introduction Of women in Canada diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer, 50% have not been screened according to guidelines. Interventions involving self-collected samples for human papillomavirus (HPV) screening could be an avenue to increase uptake. To guide the development of cervical cancer screening interventions, we assessed preferred sample collection options, sampling preferences according to previous screening behaviours, and preference for self-sampling among women not screened according to guidelines, as a function of their reasons for not being screened. Methods Data were collected in an online survey (Montreal, Quebec; 2016) and included information from female participants between the ages of 21 and 65 years who had not undergone hysterectomy and who had provided answers to survey questions about screening history, screening interval, and screening preferences (n = 526, weighted n = 574,392). Results In weighted analyses, 68% of all women surveyed and 82% of women not recently screened preferred screening by self-sampling. Among women born outside of Canada, the United States, or Europe, preference ranged from 47% to 60%. Nearly all women (95%-100%) who reported fear or embarrassment, dislike of undergoing a Pap test, or lack of time or geography-related availability of screening as one of their reasons for not being screened stated a preference for undergoing screening by self-sampling. Conclusions The results demonstrate a strong preference for self-sampling among never-screened and not-recently-screened women, and provides initial evidence for policymakers and researchers to address how best to integrate self-sampling HPV screening into both organized and opportunistic screening contexts.