Trial reportBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2010
Psychosocial outcomes of three triage methods for the management of borderline abnormal cervical smears: an open randomised trial.
Trial report in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 71 citations in OpenAlex.
- Decision aids for people facing health treatment or screening decisions.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Sexually Transmitted Infections Treatment Guidelines, 2021.MMWR. Recommendations and reports : Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Recommendations and reports · 2021Guideline
- Decision aids for people facing health treatment or screening decisions.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines, 2015.MMWR. Recommendations and reports : Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Recommendations and reports · 2015Guideline
- Psychological and sexual impact of human papillomavirus screening in women in Cameroon: a prospective cohort study.BMC women's health · 2025Trial
- Iranian women's perceptions of human papillomavirus and barriers to vaccination: a qualitative study based on the health belief model.BMC public health · 2025Article
- MicroRNA expression associated with low-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia outcomes.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2023Article
- Review
- Harms and benefits of cervical cancer screening among non-attenders in Switzerland: The transition towards HPV-based screening.Preventive medicine reports · 2022Article
- Psychological factors among Appalachian women with abnormal Pap results.The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association · 2022Article
- Health-related quality of life in women after colposcopy: results from a longitudinal patient survey.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2021Article
- Understanding the role of oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) status on adherence behaviors among women with abnormal cervical cytology.BMC women's health · 2021Article
- Health-related quality of life of women after HPV testing as triage strategy for an abnormal Pap smear: a nested randomized pragmatic trial in a middle-income country.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2020Article
- Article
- Anxiety and distress following receipt of results from routine HPV primary testing in cervical screening: The psychological impact of primary screening (PIPS) study.International journal of cancer · 2020Article
- A Review of Decision Aids for Patients Considering More Than One Type of Invasive Treatment.The Journal of surgical research · 2019Review
- Is quality of life a suitable measure of patient decision aid effectiveness? Sub-analysis of a Cochrane systematic review.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2019Review
- Cardiovascular Diseases And Psychiatric Disorders During The Diagnostic Workup Of Suspected Hematological Malignancy.Clinical epidemiology · 2019Article
- Psychosocial consequences of skin cancer screening.Preventive medicine reports · 2018Article
- Estimation of treatment preference effects in clinical trials when some participants are indifferent to treatment choice.BMC medical research methodology · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo assess which of three triage strategies for women with borderline abnormal cervical smear results in the best psychosocial outcomes.
designPragmatic, non-blinded, multicentre, randomised controlled trial.
setting18 family planning clinics across Australia, covering both urban and rural areas, between January 2004 and October 2006.
participantsWomen aged 16-70 years (n=314) who attended routine cervical screening and received a borderline cervical smear.
interventionsPatients were randomly assigned to human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing (n=104), a repeat smear test at six months (n=106), or the patient's informed choice of either test supported by a decision aid (n=104). Psychosocial outcomes were assessed at multiple time points over 12 months by postal questionnaire.
main outcome measuresWe assessed health related quality of life (SF36 mental health subscale), cognitive effects (such as perceived risk of cervical cancer, intrusive thoughts), affective outcomes (general anxiety [state-trait anxiety inventory]), specific anxiety about an abnormal smear (cervical screening questionnaire), and behavioural outcomes (sexual health behaviour and visits to the doctor) over 12 months of follow-up.
resultsAt two weeks, some psychosocial outcomes were worse for women allocated to HPV testing compared with those in the smear testing group (SF36 vitality subscale: t=-1.63, df=131, P=0.10; intrusive thoughts chi(2)=8.14, df=1, P<0.01). Over 12 months, distress about the abnormal smear was lowest in women allocated to HPV testing and highest in the repeat smear testing group (t=-2.89, df=135, P<0.01). Intrusive thoughts were highest in patients allocated to HPV testing (25%, compared with 13% in the informed choice group; difference=12%, 95% CI -1.1% to 25.1%). Women in the HPV DNA group and the informed choice group were more satisfied with their care than women allocated to repeat smear testing.
conclusionsAlthough the psychosocial effect was initially worse for women allocated to HPV triage, over the full year of follow-up this intervention was better for women's psychosocial health than repeat smear testing. Offering informed choice could have a small advantage for cognitive outcomes, but in view of the additional effort and logistical complexity that this intervention requires, HPV testing alone can be justified for most women.
trial registrationactr.org.au Identifier: 12605000111673.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.