PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Gina Ogilvie, MD MSc AU - Mel Krajden MD AU - Juanita Maginley, RN AU - Judy Isaac-Renton MD AU - Greg Hislop, MDCM MSc AU - Ruth Elwood-Martin MD AU - Chris Sherlock, MB AU - Darlene Taylor, BSN AU - Michael Rekart MD TI - Feasibility of self-collection of specimens for human papillomavirus testing in hard-to-reach women AID - 10.1503/cmaj.070013 DP - 2007 Aug 28 TA - Canadian Medical Association Journal PG - 480--483 VI - 177 IP - 5 4099 - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/177/5/480.short 4100 - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/177/5/480.full SO - CMAJ2007 Aug 28; 177 AB - To study the feasibility of self-collected specimens for testing human papillomavirus (HPV) status among hard-to-reach women, outreach nurses recruited women in women's centres, shelters and alleys in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Of the 151 participants for whom samples were available, 43 (28.5%) tested positive for high-risk HPV. Outreach nurses were able to recontact 81.4% of the participants who tested positive and referred them for further testing. About 14% (21/151) of participants had never received a Papanicolaou smear in British Columbia, as compared with 8.3% (608/7336) of women in the BC general population (p < 0.05). This difference suggests that self-collection of specimens for HPV testing is a feasible method to reach women who have not previously participated in cervical cancer screening programs.