Mass screening

About: Mass screening is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 34508 publications have been published within this topic receiving 1365148 citations.

Social and psychological impact of HPV testing in cervical screening: a qualitative study

Abstract: Objective: Human papillomavirus (HPV) testing has been proposed for inclusion in the UK cervical screening programme. While testing may bring some benefits to the screening programme, testing positive for HPV, a sexually transmitted virus, may have adverse social and psychological consequences for women. The aim of this study was to examine the social and psychological impact of HPV testing in the context of cervical cancer screening. Method: In-depth interviews generating qualitative data were carried out with 74 women participating in HPV testing in England between June 2001 and December 2003. Purposive sampling was used to ensure heterogeneity in age, ethnic group, marital status, socioeconomic background, cytology, and HPV results among participants. Results: Testing positive for HPV was associated with adverse social and psychological consequences, relating primarily to the sexually transmitted nature of the virus and its link to cervical cancer. Women described feeling stigmatised, anxious and stressed, concerned about their sexual relationships, and were worried about disclosing their result to others. Anxiety about the infection was widespread, but the impact of testing positive varied. The psychological burden of the infection related to women’s relationship status and history, their social and cultural norms and practices around sex and relationships, and their understanding of key features of HPV. Conclusion: HPV testing should be accompanied by extensive health education to inform women and to de-stigmatise infection with the virus to ensure that any adverse impact of the infection on women’s wellbeing is minimised.

A review of methods for detect human Papillomavirus infection.

Abstract: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted virus. Worldwide, the most common high-risk (HR)-HPV are -16/18, and approximately 70% of cervical cancers (CC) are due to infection by these genotypes. Persistent infection by HR-HPV is a necessary but not sufficient cause of this cancer, which develops over a long period through precursor lesions, which can be detected by cytological screening. Although this screening has decreased the incidence of CC, HPV-related cervical disease, including premalignant and malignant lesions, continues to be a major burden on health-care systems. Although not completely elucidated, the HPV-driven molecular mechanisms underlying the development of cervical lesions have provided a number of potential biomarkers for both diagnostic and prognostic use in the clinical management of women with HPV-related cervical disease, and these biomarkers can also be used to increase the positive predictive value of current screening methods. In addition, they can provide insights into the biology of HPV-induced cancer and thus lead to the development of nonsurgical therapies. Considering the importance of detecting HPV and related biomarkers, a variety of methods are being developed for these purposes. This review summarizes current knowledge of detection methods for HPV, and related biomarkers that can be used to discriminate lesions with a high risk of progression to CC.

Pretransplant predictors of posttransplant adherence and clinical outcome: an evidence base for pretransplant psychosocial screening.

Abstract: INTRODUCTION: There is growing awareness, yet scant prospective evidence that pretransplant (TX) psychosocial factors may predict post-TX outcome. We examined which pre-TX psychosocial factors predict post-TX nonadherence with immunosuppression (NA) and clinical outcomes in heart, liver, and lung TX. METHODOLOGY: We prospectively followed 141 patients (28 heart, 61 liver, and 52 lung) from pre-TX until 1 year post-TX. Multivariable analyses determined which pre-TX factors (i.e., anxiety, depression, personality traits, social support, adherence with medication, and smoking status) predict poor post-TX outcome (i.e., NA, late acute rejection, graft loss, and resource utilization), controlling for medical predictors of poor outcome. RESULTS: Pre-TX self-reported medication nonadherence (odds ratio [OR]=7.9), lower received social support (OR=0.9), a higher education (OR=2.7), and lower "conscientiousness" (OR=0.8) were independent predictors of post-TX NA. Not living in a stable relationship predicted graft loss (OR=4.9). Pre-TX medication NA was the only predictor for presence of late acute rejection (OR=4.4). No other pre-TX predictors for poor outcome could be found. CONCLUSION: This is the first prospective study demonstrating that selected pre-TX psychosocial factors predict post-TX NA and poor clinical outcome, implying that pre-TX screening should include this set of factors in addition to traditional medical criteria.

Socio-economic inequalities in breast and cervical cancer screening practices in Europe: influence of the type of screening program

Abstract: Background The aim of this study was to describe inequalities in the use of breast and cervical cancer screening services according to educational level in European countries in 2002, and to determine the influence of the type of screening program on the extent of inequality. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed using individual-level data from the WHO World Health Survey (2002) and data regarding the implementation of cancer screening programmes. The study population consisted of women from 22 European countries, aged 25-69 years for cervical cancer screening (n =11 770) and 50-69 years for breast cancer screening (n = 4784). Dependent variables were having had a PAP smear and having had a mammography during the previous 3 years. The main independent variables were socio-economic position (SEP) and the type of screening program in the country. For each country the prevalence of screening was calculated, overall and for each level of education, and indices of relative (RII) and absolute (SII) inequality were computed by educational level. Multilevel logistic regression models were fitted. Results SEP inequalities in screening were found in countries with opportunistic screening [comparing highest with lowest educational level: RII = 1.28, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12-1.48 for cervical cancer; and RII = 3.11, 95% CI 1.78-5.42 for breast cancer] but not in countries with nationwide population-based programmes. Inequalities were also observed in countries with regional screening programs (RII = 1.35, 95% CI 1.10-1.65 for cervical cancer; and RII = 1.58, 95% CI 1.26-1.98 for breast cancer). Conclusions Inequalities in the use of cancer screening according to SEP are higher in countries without population-based cancer screening programmes. These results highlight the potential benefits of population-based screening programmes.