Sociodemographic Predictors of Anal Cancer Screening and Follow-up in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Individuals.
Jessica S Wells, Marcia M Holstad, Deborah Watkins Bruner
PMID 28723723WHAT IT FOUND
Only 29% of HIV-infected patients had documented anal Pap screening.
Among those with abnormal results, 65% had no follow-up anoscopy. Men who have sex with men were significantly more likely to be screened and followed up than women.
Key findings
01Only 29% of the sample had a documented anal Pap test during the study period.
02Of those recommended for follow-up after an abnormal Pap, 65% did not have a documented follow-up anoscopy.
03Females were significantly less likely to be screened for anal cancer than males.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was a retrospective chart review, so it relied entirely on documentation. If a screening or follow-up happened but wasn't recorded, it counted as not happening. The sample was from a single high-resource clinic, so results may not apply to settings with fewer resources. Sexual orientation was only documented for men who have sex with men; sexual practices for women were not captured, making it hard to separate the effects of gender and sexual orientation. The study did not capture reasons for non-adherence, such as patient beliefs, stigma, or provider factors.
Declared interests
The authors report no financial interests or benefit from this research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that the low screening rates reflect the entire population of HIV-infected patients. The study was conducted in a high-resource setting, and the authors note that rates might be even lower in less resourced areas. Also, the strong association with being a man who has sex with men may be partly due to how sexual orientation was documented, as it was only recorded for this group.