Cultural Acceptability and Feasibility of HPV Cervical Self Collection Aided by Lay Navigators

Human Papilloma Virus Clinical Trial

— HPVhometest  

Official title:

Cultural Acceptability and Feasibility of HPV Cervical Self Collection Aided by Lay Navigators

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03139669
• Other study ID #: 18473
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: July 2016
• Est. completion date: April 2019

Study information

• Verified date: September 2022
• Source: University of Virginia
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Invasive cervical cancer incidence and mortality can be dramatically reduced through early detection and treatment, but many women do not complete screening at recommended intervals. Many low-income women in Virginia remain uninsured and are at significant risk of being medically underserved and failing to complete regular cervical cancer screening. At-home self-collection of specimens for HPV testing is an innovative approach that may increase access to cervical cancer screening in populations that do not participate in traditional clinic-based screening. The proposed community based participatory study aims to determine whether offering at-home self-collection for HPV testing through a lay navigator network is an acceptable and feasible method to increase access to cervical cancer screening for under-screened women in the Tobacco Footprint in rural far Southwest Virginia (Health Districts 1, 2 and 3). The procedures will be recruitment of under-screened women in Health Districts 1, 2 and 3 of Southwest Virginia to complete HPV testing using self-collection kits distributed by lay navigators. Regardless of HPV positivity, all women will be provided with information about cervical cancer screening (locations, cost, etc.), and will be encouraged to complete Pap screening by a clinician.

Description:

The catchment area for the University of Virginia Health System and Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center (EC4) extends throughout Southwest Virginia and into neighboring West Virginia, encompassing a portion of Appalachia. State-wide incidence of cervical cancer was 6.6 cases per 100,000 from 2005-2009, but variation exists county by county: Cumberland (Health District 2), Roanoke, and Southside were among those with the highest incidence. The significant decrease in cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates in the US and in Virginia since 1950 is directly attributed to increased early detection and screening. The Virginia Department of Health's Comprehensive Cancer Control Program found that patient level barriers to screening for women in this region include lower education, lower income, and lack of health insurance. Systems-level barriers in this region include decreased access to screening services, financial barriers, and transportation barriers. This study will assess a novel approach to addressing patient level and systems-level barriers to accessing cervical cancer screening in Virginia Health Districts 1, 2 and 3, and utilizes an innovative technology (self-collection for HPV testing) and delivery model (distributed by lay navigators).

Self-collection for HPV testing paired with a community health worker program is a model that has been found to have great utility in accessing at risk women in Little Haiti, South Florida, as well as in rural Haiti. Community health workers often have training in a variety of health issues and conditions. Patient navigators trained in cervical cancer screening and treatment specifically have been utilized to understand patient barriers to in-clinic screening. The lay navigator program the investigators will work with in Health Districts 1, 2 and 3 involves cancer-specific training (including but not limited to cervical cancer training), and training on facilitating access to screening and treatment resources available in Health Districts 1, 2 and 3, as well as at the University of Virginia Health System. Lay navigators are therefore uniquely poised to provide education to women around the use of HPV self-collection, and to navigate women to in-clinic Pap screening, treatment, and support services as needed.

Reach of Current Lay Navigators Trained using the "Understanding Cancer" curriculum (developed by partners listed above), lay navigators in Russell County (Cumberland Health District) reported 312 encounters between 2/10/14 and 12/17/14 classified as "preventative" specific to breast cancer. Between 1/23/14 and 9/24/14, navigators across Lenowisco Health District provided 233 cancer-related encounters, including navigation services for 4 women diagnosed with cervical cancer. The lay navigator program has the potential to be a rich resources for community based research in Southwest Virginia.

Protocol Development Dr. Mitchell is currently a Co-I on the NCI-funded project P30CA044579 (PI: Thomas Loughran, MD, 2014-2015). Through this work, the investigators are developing a list of key stakeholders, which will be consulted in Phases I and II of this study. Additionally, the community advisory board (CAB) of the Cancer Center Without Walls initiative will be consulted throughout protocol development.

Dr. Mitchell has developed a collaboration with Dr. Jennifer S. Smith, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Smith and her research team have extensive experience and expertise with HPV screening and prevention, specifically exploring delivery models for HPV self-collection in medically underserved areas of North Carolina. The investigators are planning to collaborate on this pilot study, and based on these findings, to develop a proposal for an NIH/NCI R01 grant as co-PIs. Dr. Smith and the research team have conducted two previous studies assessing the acceptability, feasibility, and validity of HPV self-collection. Through these studies, the investigators have identified brush designs that are minimally invasive, well-accepted, and effective for self-collection and sample preservation media that is non-toxic, safe for mailing, and stable at a range of temperatures; and have developed well-validated, field-tested illustrated instructions for self-collection that are comprehensible to low-literacy women.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 100
• Est. completion date: April 2019
• Est. primary completion date: January 2019
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: Female
• Age group: 30 Years to 65 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• 30-65 years old

• Female

• Live in southwest VA

• Not pregnant-self reported

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of Papanicolaou test in the last 3 years

• History of hysterectomy or pelvic radiation

• Co-testing (pap test and HPV test at the same time) in the last 5 years

• English speaking

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Human Papilloma Virus
• Papilloma

Intervention

Device:
• Viba collection brush
HPV home collection kit using the viba collection brush to collect cervical cells for HPV DNA testing.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
n/a

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Virginia

References & Publications (9)

Ackerson K, Gretebeck K. Factors influencing cancer screening practices of underserved women. J Am Acad Nurse Pract. 2007 Nov;19(11):591-601. Review. — View Citation

Arbyn M, Sasieni P, Meijer CJ, Clavel C, Koliopoulos G, Dillner J. Chapter 9: Clinical applications of HPV testing: a summary of meta-analyses. Vaccine. 2006 Aug 31;24 Suppl 3:S3/78-89. Review. — View Citation

Arbyn M, Verdoodt F, Snijders PJ, Verhoef VM, Suonio E, Dillner L, Minozzi S, Bellisario C, Banzi R, Zhao FH, Hillemanns P, Anttila A. Accuracy of human papillomavirus testing on self-collected versus clinician-collected samples: a meta-analysis. Lancet Oncol. 2014 Feb;15(2):172-83. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(13)70570-9. Epub 2014 Jan 14. Review. — View Citation

Balasubramanian A, Kulasingam SL, Baer A, Hughes JP, Myers ER, Mao C, Kiviat NB, Koutsky LA. Accuracy and cost-effectiveness of cervical cancer screening by high-risk human papillomavirus DNA testing of self-collected vaginal samples. J Low Genit Tract Dis. 2010 Jul;14(3):185-95. doi: 10.1097/LGT.0b013e3181cd6d36. — View Citation

Ely GE, White C, Jones K, Feltner F, Gomez M, Shelton B, Slone S, Van Meter E, Desimone C, Schoenberg N, Dignan M. Cervical cancer screening: exploring Appalachian patients' barriers to follow-up care. Soc Work Health Care. 2014;53(2):83-95. doi: 10.1080/00981389.2013.827149. — View Citation

Gravitt PE, Belinson JL, Salmeron J, Shah KV. Looking ahead: a case for human papillomavirus testing of self-sampled vaginal specimens as a cervical cancer screening strategy. Int J Cancer. 2011 Aug 1;129(3):517-27. doi: 10.1002/ijc.25974. Review. — View Citation

Kobetz E, Kish JK, Campos NG, Koru-Sengul T, Bishop I, Lipshultz H, Barton B, Barbee L. Burden of Human Papillomavirus among Haitian Immigrants in Miami, Florida: Community-Based Participatory Research in Action. J Oncol. 2012;2012:728397. doi: 10.1155/2012/728397. Epub 2012 Mar 15. — View Citation

Mandigo M, Frett B, Laurent JR, Bishop I, Raymondville M, Marsh S, Kobetz E. Pairing community health workers with HPV self-sampling for cervical cancer prevention in rural Haiti. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2015 Mar;128(3):206-10. doi: 10.1016/j.ijgo.2014.09.016. Epub 2014 Nov 11. — View Citation

Racey CS, Withrow DR, Gesink D. Self-collected HPV testing improves participation in cervical cancer screening: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Can J Public Health. 2013 Feb 11;104(2):e159-66. Review. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Acceptability of at-home self-collection for HPV testing among under-screened women in Southwest Virginia.	Number of participants completing home testing kit, and result of survey evaluating participant acceptability.	24 months
Secondary	Feasibility of utilizing lay navigators to offer at-home HPV self-collection as a strategy to increase cervical cancer screening among under-screened women in Southwest Virginia.	Measured by enrollment and through participant survey results.	24 months