while most infections go away on their own in a couple of years without the host experiencing any physical symptoms, there are more than 100 types of hpv and around 25 of these are believed to present a cancer risk.
the study recruited 665 women between the ages of 25 and 64 from 22 counties in north carolina. these participants, who were uninsured and enrolled in medicaid or medicare, had not had received a pap test in the past four years and were overdue for a screening.
two-thirds of the women were sent at-home hpv collection kits and then given assistance in making a screening appointment at a clinic. the remaining third did not receive a kit but were given the same scheduling assistance. the primary outcome of the study was either attending an in-clinic screening or testing hpv-negative through a self-collected sample within six months of enrolling in the study.
at-home kits reach people whose religious beliefs make screening appointments uncomfortable
researchers found that 72 per cent of women who received an hpv kit participated in the screening program compared to 37 per cent of the women who did not. among those who received a kit, screening uptake did not vary by age, race/ethnicity, medicaid coverage, education or time since last screening.
3 minute read
