To self-collect or not to self-collect? Updates to the National Cervical Screening Program for General Practice

Presented by the Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer, this session aims to educate practitioners about recent changes to the National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP) including the expanded option of self-collection as a choice to all routine screening participants. The session will equip practitioners with the knowledge and skills to confidently offer self-collection to participants in the NCSP, understand when self-collection isn’t appropriate, and correctly manage results according to national clinical guidelines.

On 1 July 2022, the NCSP expanded Cervical Screening Test options, offering all participants in the program the choice to screen either by self-collection of a vaginal sample using a simple swab or by clinician collection of a sample from the cervix using a speculum. These changes mean that general practices may see an increase in the volume of requests from patients to use self-collection. We invite GPs and primary health care teams to participate in this session which will include:

• an overview of the self-collection policy change, MBS item changes and updates to the NCSP Clinical Guidelines
• practicalities of self-collection, including when it should not be offered, how to help patients choose their screening method, and how to manage the results according to the guidelines
• a pathology update on laboratory requirements to process self-collection samples
• strategies to engage patient populations who are under or never screened and increase cervical screening rates in your practice.

Presented by Professor Marion Saville AM, Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer

Professor Marion Saville AM has held the position of executive director of the Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer since 2000. Marion is a New Zealand medical graduate who trained in anatomic pathology at Northwestern University in Chicago. She went on to complete a fellowship in cytopathology at East Carolina University and a research fellowship at Georgetown University, focussing on HPV. Marion has served on cervical screening advisory committees in Australia, New Zealand and Ontario. She recently chaired the working group to review Australia’s guidelines for the management of screen-detected abnormalities in the NCSP.

Marion is interested in how culturally safe screening can meet the needs of disadvantaged groups who have poorer cancer outcomes in Australia and New Zealand. She has also focussed on research and implementation projects demonstrating that it is possible to deliver high quality, acceptable cervical screening in a range of resource poor settings. Marion was appointed as a member (AM) of the Order of Australia on Australia Day 2020 for her significant service to women’s health through cervical screening initiatives. 

Learning outcomes:

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

• discuss the recent changes to the self-collection policy and relevant updates to the National Cervical Screening Program Clinical Guidelines
• identify the differences between self-collected and clinician-collected Cervical Screening Tests
• describe effective strategies to support patients to make an informed choice about their cervical screening test.