Human papillomavirus and the value of screening: young women's knowledge of cervical cancer

The study reports a questionnaire survey of female university students intended (1) to delineate their knowledge of cervical cancer and screening, and (2) to impute their valuation of the introduction of human papillomavirus (HPV) testing. It was found that almost 80% of respondents thought cervical cancer was a leading cause of cancer death amongst women. Most subjects consistently over-estimated the incidence of cervical cancer, consistent with the social amplification hypothesis. The major risk factors were accurately identified by the majority, although family history was emphasized to a degree unwarranted by epidemiological evidence. Subjects' knowledge of the screening programme was accurate in some respects, but not in others, e.g. the majority under-estimated the abnormality rate and over-estimated the age at which abnormalities typically occurred. Subjects placed a premium on the increased accuracy which HPV testing might potentially offer, predictable from their beliefs about the performance of the existing screening programme. Policy makers can be reassured that female university students appear unconcerned about undergoing a test for a sexually transmitted disease, although their beliefs about cervical cancer and the power of screening are distorted, and their enthusiasm for HPV testing relates to an, as yet, unconfirmed belief in its accuracy.