January 22, 2019
Cervical screeners fail HPV test
Massey University researchers are raising the alarm about gaps in what health professionals know about HPV and cervical screening.
The gaps were identified by the first New Zealand study of health professionals’ knowledge and understanding about the human papillomavirus, which is responsible for 99.7 per cent of cases of cervical cancer, along with some head and neck, penal and anal cancers. .
Some 230 practice nurses, smear takers and other clinical and laboratory staff took part in the survey, which was published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Study leader Collette Bromhead from Massey University’s School of Health Sciences says only 63 per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed they were adequately informed about HPV.
Even more worryingly, 13 per cent of respondents either believed HPV causes HIV/AIDS or were unclear that it did not.
Dr Bromhead says there are longstanding ethnic inequalities in cervical cancer incidence and mortality, and cervical cancer screening coverage remains low for Māori and Pacific women.
Lack of knowledge among health professionals could affect women’s engagement with cervical screening.
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