Patient Satisfaction With Human Papillomavirus Self-Sampling in a Cohort of Ethnically Diverse and Rural Women in Yunnan Province, China.

OBJECTIVE: Rural Yunnan Province is one of the most ethnically, culturally, and religiously diverse regions in China. The majority of its women have never been screened for cervical cancer. It is not known whether women would feel comfortable and ultimately even prefer using a human papillomavirus (HPV) self-swabbing method. METHODS: In a 6-day period, 3,600 women were taught the role of HPV in cervical cancer. They were then given self-swabbing instructions. After obtaining their specimens, 600 women were interviewed about their experience with HPV self-testing. The women were of the Yi, Hui, Dai, and Han ethnicities. RESULTS: The overwhelming majority of the women surveyed understood the self-sampling instructions (588/600, 98%) and felt comfortable carrying out the self-sampling procedure (584/600, 97%). Significantly more women (389/600, 64.8%) preferred self-sampling to having the provider (211/600, 35.2%) obtain the sample (χ = 105.61, p < .05). Women who preferred self-sampling did so primarily because they felt capable of obtaining the specimens (n = 80) or that it was a more convenient way to be tested (n = 79). The medical expertise of the provider (n = 74) and concerns over the accuracy of the test (n = 88) shifted some women's preference toward a provider-obtained sample. CONCLUSIONS: There are 400+ million Chinese women who have never had a cervical cancer screening. Self-testing has the potential to significantly increase the number of women tested. Despite the diversity of the women screened, the majority felt comfortable self-sampling and preferred self-swabbing to provider testing.

Assessing the feasibility of a rapid, high-volume cervical cancer screening programme using HPV self-sampling and digital colposcopy in rural regions of Yunnan, China.

OBJECTIVE: Implementation of a novel, rapid, high-volume, see-and-treat cervical cancer screening programme using self-swab human papillomavirus (HPV) testing and digital colposcopy in underserved regions of Yunnan China. DESIGN: 480-980 women per day self-swabbed for high-risk HPV (hrHPV+). Four careHPV machines (Qiagen) were run simultaneously to test the specimens. All hrHPV+ patients were contacted the same day and digital colposcopy was performed with the enhanced visual assessment system (MobileODT). Digital images were obtained, and all suspected lesions were biopsied and then treated. SETTING: Rural and underserved areas of the Yunnan province, Kunming municipality. PARTICIPANTS: 3600 women, mean age 50.2 years, who had never been screened for cervical cancer. The women were of the Yi, Hui, Dai and Han ethnicities. INTERVENTIONS: Cryotherapy was performed on all lesions suspicious for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 1 and loop electrosurgical excision procedure was performed on all lesions suspicious for ≥CIN2. Endocervical curettage was performed if the transformation zone was not fully visualised. RESULTS: 216 women (6%) were hrHPV+. 168 underwent same-day colposcopy (23 CIN1, 17≥CIN2). Digital colposcopy was able to identify 15 of 16 (93.8%)≥CIN2 lesions. CONCLUSIONS: This study illustrates a high-volume, rapid and practical strategy that can be used to screen and treat an ethnically diverse group of Chinese women. First, HPV self-sampling allows large numbers of women to be screened rapidly and relatively inexpensively. Only hrHPV+ women will then require further evaluation. Digital colposcopy is then performed on hrHPV+ women with a portable digital colposcope. The high-resolution images obtained can facilitate appropriate same-day treatment as they are able to accurately distinguish between CIN1 and ≥CIN2 lesions.