Alleviating Psychological Distress Associated with a Positive Cervical Cancer Screening Result: a Randomized Control Trial

Overview

Journal BMC Womens Health

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Gynecology & Obstetrics

Date 2021 Feb 13

PMID 33579257

Authors

Yukari Isaka

Ai Hori

Rie Tanaka

Masao Ichikawa

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: The method of communicating a positive cancer screening result should seek to alleviate psychological distress associated with a positive result. We evaluated whether the provision of information through a leaflet would help reduce psychological distress in a randomized controlled trial.

Methods: The participants were women aged 20-69 years who were about to undergo cervical cancer screening at health centers. Before the screening, they received hypothetical screening results, with a leaflet (intervention group, n = 493) or without it (control group, n = 479), randomly. Their psychological distress and intention to undergo further examination were then compared between the intervention and control groups.

Results: After the intervention (providing a leaflet with hypothetical screening results), psychological distress appeared to be higher in the control group than in the intervention group among those who received a hypothetical positive screening result (odds ratio: 2.57, 95% confidence interval: 1.87-3.54), while 95% and 97% of those in the intervention and control groups, respectively, reported that they would undergo further examination.

Conclusions: Information provision might help reduce psychological distress but not hinder further examination among women who screen positive for cervical cancer.

Trial Registration: UMIN Clinical Trials Registry UMIN000029894. Date of Registration: November 2017.

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