South Australians who are due for cervical screening are being informed they can now choose to perform the test themselves with self-collection tests now available through their GP or healthcare provider.
The State Government has launched a ‘You Can Do It’ campaign to encourage women aged 25 to 74 to consider self-collection for their five yearly screening.
Following consultation with the Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the campaign will target women aged 25-74 and will consist of advertising on pharmacy and GP screens, metro and rural radio, female public toilets, shopping centres, and press publications.
The COVID response has assisted this campaign in ways that would not have been possible several years ago due to community familiarity with self-testing following the roll out of Rapid Antigen Tests across the pandemic.
Self-collection is all about giving women choice and control.
Wellbeing SA has also partnered with Cancer Council SA to fund training for GPs in self-collection to ensure women across the state are supported to choose the best option for them when it comes to cervical screening.
Around 800 Australians are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year and about 70% of these cases occur in women who were not up to date with their screening or who had never screened before.
A cervical screening test (previously called a pap smear) is a simple test to detect the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is a common infection that can develop into cervical cancer.
Cervical screening, including self-collection, is facilitated by a doctor, nurse or healthcare worker with a rebate provided through Medicare.
If you are eligible and together with your GP decide that collecting your own sample is the best option for you, your healthcare provider will give you a long-handled cotton swab and instructions on how to collect your sample in private.
The campaign aligns with the National Cervical Screening Program Clinical Guidelines which was informed by the Self collection Clinical Implementation Group of experts from around Australia.
You still have the option of having a doctor or nurse collect the sample for you, if you prefer.
New changes to the National Cervical Screening program took effect in July allowing eligible people to collect their own sample.
