How GPs can help ensure at-home cervical cancer tests are actually used
Cancer is a cruel disease that does not discriminate and affects not only the patient but also their loved ones. Around six women in Scotland are diagnosed with cervical cancer every week, according to Public Health Scotland.
Cervical screening is the best protection against cervical cancer and at-home kits will be offered to women who have rarely or have never attended theirs from January.
There are fears that these DIY cervical cancer tests won't be used as much as hoped. But a study has suggested that the uptake is likely to be better if the kits are offered by a GP during a routine appointment.
The upcoming tests, which can be performed at home, look for the human papillomavirus (HPV). This is the virus which is linked to the majority of cases of cervical cancer.
So how can GPs help ensure at-home cervical cancer tests are actually used?
A new study from Queen Mary University of London and King's College London examined the best ways women can be approached about performing the tests themselves at home by looking at 13 GP surgeries in west London.
They found that under-screened women were more likely to take up the offer of a self-sample test if they were approached when they were visiting a GP for another reason.
Fewer tests were returned when under-screened women were sent a test in the post, or were sent a letter inviting them to get a self-sampling kit.
"The uptake of self-sampling was by far the highest among women who were opportunistically offered kits in primary care," the researchers wrote in the journal eClinicalMedicine.
But the researchers said that more work was needed to ensure women who took up the offer returned their sample. They suggested that text or phone reminders "could be valuable".
Of 449 women opportunistically offered a self-sample kit, 74 per cent accepted the offer and 52 per cent returned a sample within six months.
Meanwhile, 198 of the 1,616 women sent a kit in the post (12%) and 76 of the 1,587 women sent a letter inviting them to order a kit (5%) returned a self-sample within six months.
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Professor Peter Sasieni from Queen Mary University of London, said offering a self-sample kit in person "was the most effective method of encouraging women to complete their cervical cancer screening tests."
However, a "combination of approaches may be best for enabling more women to participate in cervical screening".
The NHS offers cervical screening tests - also known as smear tests - to all women aged 25-64 every three years. But many people do not take up the offer, with a number citing a lack of time, discomfort or embarrassment.
Data published by the NHS last November showed five million women are not up to date with routine check-ups.
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