Strategies to Improve the Experience of Gynaecological Screening

January 10, 2025 updated by: Jenny Stern, Uppsala University

The First Visit for Gynaecological Screening - How do we Make it as Valuable as Possible?

The aim is to evaluate different strategies to improve the experience and effect of the first visit for a cervical screening test (CST).

  1. How do the context and the allotted time for the first visit for a CST affect women's i) experience of CST ii) knowledge of and attitudes towards CST and cervical cancer and iii) attitude towards contacting a midwife regarding sexual and reproductive health in the future
  2. What effects do the RLP have, when used as a starting point for counselling at the first visit for a CST, on women's i) experience of CST ii) knowledge of and attitudes towards CST and cervical cancer iii) attitude towards contacting a midwife regarding sexual and reproductive health in the future and iv) knowledge of and attitudes towards fertility and preconception health

Method: cluster randomised control trial evaluating the effect of different strategies, including RLP-based information, to improve the experience and effect of the first visit for a CST.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

The aim is to evaluate different strategies to improve the experience and effect of the first visit for a cervical screening test (CST).

  1. How do the context and the allotted time for the first visit for a CST affect women's i) experience of CST ii) knowledge of and attitudes towards CST and cervical cancer and iii) attitude towards contacting a midwife regarding sexual and reproductive health in the future
  2. What effects do the RLP have, when used as a starting point for counselling at the first visit for a CST, on women's i) experience of CST ii) knowledge of and attitudes towards CST and cervical cancer iii) attitude towards contacting a midwife regarding sexual and reproductive health in the future and iv) knowledge of and attitudes towards fertility and preconception health

The study is a cluster randomized controlled trial evaluating different strategies, RLP-based information, to improve the experience and effect of the first visit for a cervical screening test (CST). The study will be conducted in a strategically chosen area which includes both rural and urban areas, high and low socioeconomic status and high and low percentage of immigrant visitors. The study is conducted in four steps: 1. Standard care for CST at the midwifery clinic (control group) 2. Standard care for CST at the youth clinic (intervention group 1) 3. Standard care for CST at the youth clinic with extra time allotted (intervention group 2) 4. Standard care for CST at the youth clinic with extra time allotted and the RLP-information (intervention group 3)

Step 2-4 will be conducted during different time periods at the same youth clinics. Recruitment for each step will be ongoing until the necessary number of participants are reached. All participating providers will be carefully instructed during educational sessions and provided with material on how to inform their visitors about the study. The providers at youth clinics will also receive oral information regarding how to execute the intervention and written materials (intervention guide, checklist) to ensure uniformity. During the project period, all providers will approach all adolescents visiting for CST and keep log over the visits to enable analysis of non-participants.

Participating adolescents in all groups will be asked to complete digital questionnaires after their visit. Primary outcomes: knowledge and awareness of CST, cervical cancer, fertility, and preconception health. Secondary outcomes: experience of the visit and likelihood to contact a midwife regarding questions about sexual or reproductive health in the future.

The power calculation is based on results by Stern et al. (2013) showing that university students increased knowledge by 40% after an RLP-intervention. The calculation assumed both greater variety in and lower increase in knowledge among adolescents than among university students. To detect a difference between the intervention and control group with 80% power and with a significance level of p< 0.05, 50 adolescents are needed in each group. We expect high participation rate and plan to recruit 75 adolescents in each group, i.e. 300 adolescents.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

206

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

      • Eskilstuna, Sweden
        • Region Sörmland

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

23 years to 23 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Persons with cervix
  • 23 years of age
  • Visiting midwife for their first cervical screening test

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Non-Swedish-speaking

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Group 1
Standard care for cervical screening test (CST) at the midwifery clinic (control group)
Experimental: Group 2
Standard care for CST at the youth clinic (intervention group 1)
Changed clinical context: from midwifery clinic to youth clinic
Experimental: Group 3
Standard care for CST at the youth clinic with extra time allotted (intervention group 2)
Changed clinical context: from midwifery clinic to youth clinic
Extra time allotted for each visit for CST
Experimental: Group 4
Standard care for CST at the youth clinic with extra time allotted and the RLP-information (intervention group 3)
Changed clinical context: from midwifery clinic to youth clinic
Extra time allotted for each visit for CST
Midwife-initiated discussion of the Reproductive Life Plan

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Experience of CST
Time Frame: Day 1. The patients receives a QR-code to the digital questionnaire at the end of the visit and can choose when and were to fill out the questionnaire, but are encouraged to do so in the waiting room
The outcome is measured through self-reported data, collected through a digital questionnaire. The items are developed based on Kvalitet Ur Patientens Perspektiv (KUPP), which is a widely used measure within Swedish health care to measure PREM- Patient Reported Experience Measures
Day 1. The patients receives a QR-code to the digital questionnaire at the end of the visit and can choose when and were to fill out the questionnaire, but are encouraged to do so in the waiting room

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Knowledge of and attitudes towards CST and cervical cancer
Time Frame: Day 1. The patients receives a QR-code to the digital questionnaire at the end of the visit and can choose when and were to fill out the questionnaire, but are encouraged to do so in the waiting room
The outcome is measured through self-reported data, collected through a digital questionnaire. The item is developed based on previous research regarding knowledge of and attitudes towards CST and cervical cancer. The item is posed as 13 statements and the respondent is asked to tick the alternative that apply to her opinion: highly agree, partially agree, neither agree nor diagree, partially disagree, highly disagree, don't know.
Day 1. The patients receives a QR-code to the digital questionnaire at the end of the visit and can choose when and were to fill out the questionnaire, but are encouraged to do so in the waiting room
Attitude towards contacting a midwife regarding sexual and reproductive health in the future
Time Frame: Day 1. The patients receives a QR-code to the digital questionnaire at the end of the visit and can choose when and were to fill out the questionnaire, but are encouraged to do so in the waiting room
The outcome is measured through self-reported data, collected through a digital questionnaire. The item is formulated as the following "If you have questions about sexual and reproductive health in the future, how likely are you to turn to…midwife at the youth clinic? midwife at the midwifery clinic? nurse/doctor at the health center? 1177/UMO/YOUMO?" With the response alternatives: Very likely / Fairly likely / Neither likely nor unlikely / Fairly unlikely / Very unlikely
Day 1. The patients receives a QR-code to the digital questionnaire at the end of the visit and can choose when and were to fill out the questionnaire, but are encouraged to do so in the waiting room
Knowledge of and attitudes towards fertility and preconception health
Time Frame: Day 1. The patients receives a QR-code to the digital questionnaire at the end of the visit and can choose when and were to fill out the questionnaire, but are encouraged to do so in the waiting room
The outcome is measured through self-reported data, collected through a digital questionnaire. The item is developed based on the Health Belief Model and previous research on knowledge of and attitudes towards fertility and preconception health.
Day 1. The patients receives a QR-code to the digital questionnaire at the end of the visit and can choose when and were to fill out the questionnaire, but are encouraged to do so in the waiting room

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Jenny Stern, PhD, Uppsala University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

November 1, 2021

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 19, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

June 19, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 1, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 11, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

November 23, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 25, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 10, 2025

Last Verified

January 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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