Patient perception of cervical screening among women living with human immuno-deficiency virus infection attending an antiretroviral therapy clinic in urban South Africa

Summary

This study aims to ascertain the perception of cervical screening practices among HIV-positive women attending an ART clinic in urban South Africa.

It is a prospective cross-sectional study of 100 randomly selected patients using semi-structured interviews. Answers to fixed-response questions were recorded for statistical analysis and themes were identified from responses to open-ended questions.

The study found that 59% of women surveyed reported ever having had a Papanicolau (Pap) smear and that 41% of these women had never been notified of the result. Many women surveyed lacked understanding of cervical screening; 78% had never heard of cervical cancer and around 40% had no correct knowledge about Pap smears.

The findings suggest that cervical screening practices among HIV-positive women living in urban South Africa do not comply with the recommendations that are based on evidence of increased risk for this population. Systematic cervical screening programmes should be offered to HIV-positive women attending ART clinics in South Africa.

Keywords:

• HIV
• cervical dysplasia
• screening
• prevention
• Africa