Communicating Cervical Cancer Screening Results in Light of New Guidelines: Clinical Practices at Federally Qualified Health Centers. 2020

Katharine J Head, and Nicole L Johnson, and Susanna Foxworthy Scott, and Gregory D Zimet
Department of Communication Studies, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

New guidelines for cervical cancer screening (CCS) incorporate both HPV and Pap tests, and there is a need to understand communication of these cotesting results to patients, especially in at-risk populations disproportionally affected by cervical cancer. This study used computer-assisted telephone interviews in 2017 at 51 federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) in Indiana to evaluate the characteristics of clinical communication CCS results to women. Results revealed that clinical communication practices varied on channel, timing, and content. Almost half of the clinics (n = 23, 45%) communicate results to patients by phone. Most clinics (n = 47, 92%) notify patients of results in two weeks or less. For cotesting, 70% (n = 36) always communicate Pap/HPV results at the same time. The majority of clinics (n = 42, 82%) explain the type of abnormal Pap test, while only 43% (n = 22) discuss the cervical cancer risk as indicated by the HPV test result. Even though 98% (n = 48) of participants rated their communication strategy as effective, qualitatively participants acknowledged difficulties in communicating cotesting results with their often transient and low health literate patients populations. These results indicate considerable variation and potential deficits in clinical communication of cotesting results in FQHCs, but several promising communication strategies were identified that may inform improved screening communication for other clinics.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007196 Indiana State bounded on the north by Lake Michigan and Michigan, on the east by Ohio, on the south by Kentucky, and on the west by Illinois.
D002583 Uterine Cervical Neoplasms Tumors or cancer of the UTERINE CERVIX. Cancer of Cervix,Cancer of the Cervix,Cancer of the Uterine Cervix,Cervical Cancer,Cervical Neoplasms,Cervix Cancer,Cervix Neoplasms,Neoplasms, Cervical,Neoplasms, Cervix,Uterine Cervical Cancer,Cancer, Cervical,Cancer, Cervix,Cancer, Uterine Cervical,Cervical Cancer, Uterine,Cervical Cancers,Cervical Neoplasm,Cervical Neoplasm, Uterine,Cervix Neoplasm,Neoplasm, Cervix,Neoplasm, Uterine Cervical,Uterine Cervical Cancers,Uterine Cervical Neoplasm
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D014626 Vaginal Smears Collection of pooled secretions of the posterior vaginal fornix for cytologic examination. Cervical Smears,Cervical Smear,Smear, Cervical,Smear, Vaginal,Smears, Cervical,Smears, Vaginal,Vaginal Smear
D055088 Early Detection of Cancer Methods to identify and characterize cancer in the early stages of disease and predict tumor behavior. Cancer Screening,Cancer Screening Tests,Early Diagnosis of Cancer,Cancer Early Detection,Cancer Early Diagnosis,Cancer Screening Test,Screening Test, Cancer,Screening Tests, Cancer,Screening, Cancer,Test, Cancer Screening,Tests, Cancer Screening
D030361 Papillomavirus Infections Neoplasms of the skin and mucous membranes caused by papillomaviruses. They are usually benign but some have a high risk for malignant progression. HPV Infection,Human Papillomavirus Infection,HPV Infections,Human Papillomavirus Infections,Papillomavirus Infection,Papillomavirus Infection, Human,Papillomavirus Infections, Human
D065006 Papanicolaou Test Cytological preparation of cells collected from a mucosal surface and stained with Papanicolaou stain. Papanicolaou Smear,Pap Smear,Pap Test,Smear, Pap,Smear, Papanicolaou,Test, Pap,Test, Papanicolaou

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