Women Prefer In-Clinic Cervical Cancer Screening to in-home screening; Evidence Supports Longer Screening Intervals
Two recent analyses highlight evolving perspectives on cervical cancer (CC) screening. One study from the United States found that a majority of women (61%) prefer in-clinic specimen collection over at-home sample collection for CC screening, based on data from the 2024 Health Interview National Trends Survey analyzed by researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and published in JAMA Network Open. The study was conducted by Joel F. and colleagues.
The second analysis, from Norway, evaluated cost-effectiveness and risk–benefit tradeoffs of tailoring CC screening strategies according to age at human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. It suggested that adapting screening frequency, particularly moving toward less frequent screening with longer intervals, may be more favorable than the current standard five-year screening recommendations.
This cross-sectional study accessed existing data collected by HINTS 7. This study was conducted between March and September 2024. HINTS 7 is comprised of nationally representative cross-sectional data on adults in the US civilian, non-institutionalized population. The existing data was accessed between May 12 and May 25, 2025.
The study participants were adults between 21 and 65 years old and eligible for cervical cancer screening according to the guidelines provided by the US Preventive Services Task Force. Additionally, participants provided self-reported data regarding gender identity. Exclusion criteria for the participants involved responses from individuals who did not require any screening and/or did not indicate their modality preference for screening. The sample involved 2300 women.
Key findings
The average (SD) age of the participants was 45.5 (29.2) years.
The majority of the women sampled were married or living as married (58.2% weighted percentage; 95% CI, 56.5% to 60.0%), had access to health insurance (91.9% weighted percentage; 95% CI, 90.7% to 93.1%), and completed at least some college (61.6% weighted percentage; 95% CI, 60.1% to 63.0%).
20.4% (95% CI, 17.4% to 23.4%) of women selected in the sample preferred at-home self-sampling.
60.8% (95% CI, 57.2% to 64.4%) of women preferred testing in the clinic.
18.8% (95% CI, 15.5% to 22.1%) of women remained unsure.
Non-Hispanic Black women had reduced odds of preferring at-home testing due to privacy concerns (54.9%), time constraints (35.1%), and embarrassment (33.4%).
This representative analysis implies that the inclusion of at-home self-sampling of cervical cancer within the US screening program can help eliminate current disparities, especially for disadvantaged populations and other women who have faced negative health care experiences. Though most women prefer a screening program within the clinic, a significant number of patients prefer or are open to a home-based screening program. Expanding the US screening program, women’s education, empowerment, and initiating interventions within disadvantaged populations can eliminate existing disparities and encourage participation within screening programs.
Reference:
Fokom Domgue J, Chandra M, Oladoyin O, Desai M, Yu R, Shete S. Women’s Preferences for Home-Based Self-Sampling or Clinic-Based Testing for Cervical Cancer Screening. JAMA Netw Open. 2026;9(2):e2558841. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.58841
