Massive growth in use of cervical self-collection screening

According to Medicare, self-collection for cervical cancer screening has increased more than ten-fold over the past year. Last July, the eligibility criteria broadened to include everyone with a cervix between 25 and 74 years of age, prompting the rapid increase in self-collection compared to the traditional pap smears. This includes a wave of people who have never screened, and those who are historically under-screened. In fact, the change has been most apparent in remote Queensland and the Northern Territory. PC4 member Dr Claire Nightingale said, “We are on track to eliminate cervical cancer in Australia, the first country to do so.” Her research focuses on improving equity through self-collection in under-screened, diverse communities who face many barriers to traditional cervical screening. Notably, PC4 is supporting her new project “EASI-M: A mobile health intervention to increase participation in cervical screening through self-collection” which is currently recruiting participants.   Read the original RACGP article here.