Cervical Screening Awareness Week

June brings with it Cervical Screening Week in the UK (January is cervical cancer awareness month), which highlights the importance of women attending for cervical screening. This is when we raise awareness of one of the greatest threats to women’s health – the impact of which can be devasting.

Whilst it is essential that nurses use June 17^th – 23^rd to take the opportunity to promote the value of cervical screening, it is of equal importance that we fully understand the myriad concerns that women have about attending and help allay the associated stigma and fears. Essentially, every contact we have with a woman, we should make it count.

In order to help others, even if this is not your speciality, nurses must keep abreast of the reasons why cervical cancer occurs and how this can be prevented. It is a travesty when cervical cancer could be eliminated, that we are still no nearer to making this happen, and whilst statistics show that progress is being made, this is painfully slow.

The HPV Vaccine

In January 2025, I had the privilege of attending a webinar delivered by Soroptimist International. A number of high-profile global professionals spoke passionately about their commitment to ridding the world of cervical cancer. They spoke in depth about the impact of exposure to the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), HPV vaccination and the importance of cervical screening. They also spoke about why women fail to undergo this potentially lifesaving test and how we can increase uptake.

The HPV vaccine is given to both boys and girls in the UK. Almost everyone who is sexually active will have been exposed to HPV. Vaccination is the safest way to protect women and children from exposure to viruses that can lead to long-term health problems, disability and death. Vaccine hesitancy is considered one of the greatest risks to global public health, and disappointingly despite the evidence to prove the safety of vaccinations, this still remains a controversial and challenging subject.

The message is clear. Cervical cancer is preventable and receiving the HPV vaccination and attending for cervical screening is crucial. It only takes a few minutes to significantly reduce the risk of cervical cancer. It’s not only cervical cancer we will be helping to prevent, but also a number of other cancers including vulval and vaginal.

So, there are a multitude of reasons why nurses should be taking this seriously. If we can encourage one woman to attend cervical screening and make the decision to have their children vaccinated against HPV, this would go a long way to assigning cervical cancer to the annals of public health history. We can’t leave it to chance. There is far too much at stake.

As nurses, we are in a privileged position. We remain one of the most trusted professions and our advice is taken seriously. Being fully conversant with cervical screening, and other types of screening available to women, including breast cancer screening and understanding why women don’t attend, can help build confidence in asking the right questions.

Using simple coaching questions to determine why someone may not attend screening, for example, and listening to the answers without any professional judgement, may help put the woman at ease. Asking why will only initiate their defensive mechanisms. So, what you say and how you say it, may be the difference between a woman attending screening and encouraging children and grandchildren to do the same. Doing our job well may mean that parents and grandparents help take up the reins.

Education and training

All nurses and nursing associates on the Nursing and Midwifery Council register are required to undergo revalidation. Learning more about the impact of cervical cancer and the importance of cervical screening and HPV vaccination is likely to help meet revalidation requirements.

 Some useful websites

The World Health Organization WHO Academy provides a number of learning resources that you might find of value, including information on the importance of vaccines and immunization. As does eLearning for health. Information produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on cervical screening can be found here.

There are many health problems that women experience across the globe. Don’t let this be one of them. Let’s make cervical cancer a thing of the past by making every contact count and acting to close the gap for good.

 The eradication of cervical cancer is within our grasp. Don’t let it slip through our fingers.

 Some final thoughts…

• Encourage women to share their concerns about cervical screening and HPV vaccination
• Demonstrate empathy
• Do not judge
• Provide clear verbal information, and support this with written literature
• Do be prepared for women to ask questions and, as a nurse know the answers or find out there and then, if possible
• Always do what you say you will. If you promise to call someone – call them
• Make the time to chat – you may never get another chance
• Remember another appointment may be necessary
• If you can introduce the nurse who will be undertaking cervical screening, it may help build relationships
• Every woman who you positively influence may influence another
• You never know who your influence may touch
• Don’t cajole women into making decisions or make them react defensively
• Encourage women who are called back for further screening to continue the process
• Be an advocate for women and girls
• Be as knowledgeable as you can about cervical screening and HPV vaccination, indeed all vaccinations. It’s important

Photo courtesy of Pexels.