PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Ogilvie, Gina
AU  - Krajden, Mel
AU  - Maginley, Juanita
AU  - Isaac-Renton, Judy
AU  - Hislop, Greg
AU  - Elwood-Martin, Ruth
AU  - Sherlock, Chris
AU  - Taylor, Darlene
AU  - Rekart, Michael
TI  - Feasibility of self-collection of specimens for human papillomavirus testing in hard-to-reach women
AID  - 10.1503/cmaj.070013
DP  - 2007 Aug 28
TA  - Canadian Medical Association Journal
PG  - 480--483
VI  - 177
IP  - 5
4099  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/177/5/480.short
4100  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/177/5/480.full
SO  - CMAJ2007 Aug 28; 177
AB  - To study the feasibility of self-collected specimens for testing human papillomavirus (HPV) status among hard-to-reach women, outreach nurses recruited women in women's centres, shelters and alleys in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Of the 151 participants for whom samples were available, 43 (28.5%) tested positive for high-risk HPV. Outreach nurses were able to recontact 81.4% of the participants who tested positive and referred them for further testing. About 14% (21/151) of participants had never received a Papanicolaou smear in British Columbia, as compared with 8.3% (608/7336) of women in the BC general population (p < 0.05). This difference suggests that self-collection of specimens for HPV testing is a feasible method to reach women who have not previously participated in cervical cancer screening programs.