Most women prefer clinic cervical screening

Most women still prefer clinic cervical screening over at-home self-sampling, despite home testing devices becoming available, a study has found.

However, women who reported discrimination in healthcare, those on lower incomes and those who distrust the healthcare system were more likely to prefer at-home sampling or be unsure which option to choose.

The US Food and Drug Administration approved the first at-home self-sampling device for cervical cancer screening in May 2025. The US Preventive Services Task Force has not recommended at-home screening.

The study analysed data from a nationally representative survey of US adults, including 2,300 women aged 21 to 65, who were asked whether they preferred at-home vaginal self-sampling (collecting their own sample) or clinic-based testing.

The mean age was 45.5 years, more than 90 per cent had health insurance and more than three-quarters said they had at least two healthcare visits in the last year outside emergency care.

Overall, 60.8 per cent of respondents preferred clinic-based testing, while 20.4 per cent favoured at-home self-sampling and 18.8 per cent were unsure.

Some groups were more likely to prefer at-home sampling. Women who had experienced prejudice or discrimination during medical care were about twice as likely to choose at-home sampling as those who had not.

However, non-Hispanic Black women were less likely than non-Hispanic White women to prefer at-home sampling.

Women who were not heterosexual or did not know their sexual orientation, women with an annual income below US$50,000, and those reporting little or no trust in the healthcare system were more likely to be unsure which option to choose.

Among women who preferred at-home self-sampling, and those who were unsure, the most common reason for considering it was privacy.

That was followed by not wanting to take time off work, avoiding embarrassment and saving on transport costs.

Age, income, education level, marital status, location, insurance coverage and sexual orientation were not linked to preferring at-home sampling over clinic-based screening.

The researchers called for at-home self-sampling to be added to US guidelines and backed by the medical community to increase screening rates and reduce cervical cancer inequalities.

They said tailored interventions and information campaigns are needed, “particularly focusing on high-risk groups such as non-Hispanic Black individuals and women who experience prejudice or discrimination when seeking medical care.”