A project is under way in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme to evaluate the use of HPV testing as the primary screening tool in the programme, with cytology triage. This survey study aims to measure the psychological impact of HPV primary testing by comparing women taking part in the pilot with those in the routine programme.
The NHS Cervical Screening Programme is using HPV primary testing across six sites in England: London North West, North Bristol, Sheffield, Norfolk and Norwich, Manchester and Liverpool.
University College London is evaluating HPV primary testing in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme. In particular, we are interested in how women feel about their screening test results. Some women in the study will have had the new HPV test; others will not – we are interested in the views of both groups. This study may help decide whether HPV primary screening should be used in the cervical screening programme across England.
In order to do this, the NHS has agreed to pass on names and addresses of some patients to a secure printing and mailing company (CHP Docmail Ltd). CHP Docmail Ltd complies with the Data Protection Act (1998) and Information Governance guidelines to make sure these details are kept confidential - they also destroy these details within 30 days of receiving them. The reason for this is so that CHP Docmail Ltd can post out invitation packs to selected patients who have taken part in HPV Primary Screening - this will include a very small number of women from the six NHS trusts listed above. When women receive this invitation pack, they can then decide whether they want to take part in the study. If they do, they need to complete a consent form and questionnaires, and post these directly to UCL using a pre-paid envelope.
If you do not want the NHS to pass on your name and address to CHP Docmail Ltd for the purposes of inviting you to take part in this research, you can opt-out by contacting your local NHS trust (details at the end of this page). This is only relevant if you live in one of the six areas with HPV primary screening, and if you are due for cervical screening between June and December 2016. You can quote the name of this study (“evaluating the psychological impact of HPV primary screening”) and tell the relevant person that you would like to opt-out. This will not affect you medical or legal rights.
• London North West Healthcare NHS Trust: Tanya Levine on tanya.levine[at]nhs.net or 020 8869 3314.
• North Bristol NHS Trust: Katherine Hunt on Katherine.Hunt[at]nbt.nhs.uk.
• Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust: Kay Ellis on kay.ellis[at]sth.nhs.uk or 0114 271 3697.
• Norfolk and Norwich NHS Trust: Viki Frew on viki.frew[at]nnuh.nhs.uk or 01603 286033.
• Central Manchester University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust: Miles Holbrook on miles.holbrook[at]cmft.nhs.uk or 0161 276 6475.
• Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust: Christopher Evans on Chris.Evans[at]rlbuht.nhs.uk or 0151 706 4581.
If you would like more information on the study in general, please contact Dr Jo Waller at UCL on j.waller[at]ucl.ac.uk or 0207 769 5958. UCL will not know any of your personal details unless you choose to take part, so we will not be able to opt you out (only your NHS trust can do this). You do not have to tell UCL your name or details if you want to contact us to discuss the study.
The project is funded for 18 months by a Public Health England award to Dr Jo Waller, Dr Laura Marlow and Dr Alice Forster, ending in September 2017.
Contact: Dr Jo Waller (j.waller[at]ucl.ac.uk) or Emily McBride (e.mcbride[at]ucl.ac.uk).