title: Implementation of human papillomavirus testing in cervical screening without a concomitant decrease in participation rate.
abstract: Adding high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) testing to screening increases the efficacy of cervical screening programmes. However, hrHPV testing may result in a lower participation rate because of the perceived association with sexually transmitted infections. We describe how testing for hrHPV was added to cervical screening in the POpulation-BAsed SCreening study AMsterdam (POBASCAM) trial. Participation rates of the screening programme before and after hrHPV implementation were evaluated in the region where the POBASCAM trial was carried out. The participation rate was 58.7% before and 61.4% after the addition of hrHPV testing to screening (p<0.001). An inventory of frequently asked questions is presented. Thus, hrHPV testing can be added to cervical screening by cytology without a decrease in participation rate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: N W J
authors.initials: NW
authors.lastname: Bulkmans
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bulk
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Ottevanger
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rozendaal
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hellenberg
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: van Kemenade
authors.forename: P J F
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Snijders
authors.forename: A J P
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Boeke
authors.forename: C J L M
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Meijer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000821:virology*; D014626:Vaginal Smears