Exploring colposcopists' attitudes towards use of HPV testing as a primary screening tool for cervical cancer in British Columbia.

OBJECTIVE

To examine colposcopists' attitudes regarding human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing as a primary screening tool for cervical cancer.

METHODS

Questionnaires administered in 2010 and 2011 during workshops in British Columbia elicited colposcopists' attitudes using a series of five-point Likert-style scales (strongly disagree to strongly agree) and binary (yes/no) response questions. The frequency of "agree" or "strongly agree" was used to characterize attitudes. Regression analyses examined statistically significant changes in attitudes after the 2010 workshop.

RESULTS

Responses generally indicated positive changes in attitudes toward HPV testing. Statistically significant changes after the 2010 workshop were observed for the items relating to strong agreement that HPV is a necessary cause of cervical cancer (39% increase; P < 0.001) and the likelihood of openly advocating for HPV testing (19% increase; P < 0.04). In 2010, 40% of colposcopists stated that four years between HPV tests is too long, and in 2011, 53% did so.

CONCLUSION

Colposcopists are viewed as opinion leaders and will have a critical role in implementing HPV testing in BC; our study obtained responses from 73% (2010) and 84% (2011) of BC-registered colposcopists. Colposcopists were in favour of HPV testing for primary screening for cervical cancer but did not support an extended interval for HPV testing, which suggests future knowledge translation workshops are crucial. We found that knowledge translation workshops can be an effective approach for translating evidence on screening and screening practices.