CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING: IMPACT OF THE RESULT ON WOMEN`S SEXUAL DESIRE AND SATISFACTION
2General Practitioner, Unidade De Saude Familiar Ribeirao, V. N. Famalicao
3Escola De Medicina, Universidade Do Minho, V. N. Famalico
Problem statement
Cervical cancer screening is considered an effective secondary prevention measure for HPV infection. However, there are some negative implications for women’s sexual and psychological health.
Methods
The main goal was to evaluate the impact of the screening result on women’s sexual desire and satisfaction. We conducted a prospective study to recruit eligible participants for the National screening of cervical cancer on Primary Care. We administered the survey questionnaire at the time of conducting the screening to assess the participants` level of knowledge about HPV (n=80), and also administered the questionnaire again 4 to 6 weeks following the communication of the screening results.
Results
The level of awareness and knowledge about HPV was low. Participants with altered results on screening were more anxious (p=0.036) after receiving the result. However, we do not find any statistical difference on sexual desire or satisfaction. On the group of patients with normal screening results, there is an increase on sexual desire and satisfaction (p<0.001) and reduction on anxiety (p<0.001) after receiving the result.
Conclusions
The knowledge of the cervical cancer screening result exerts an influence on women`s levels of anxiety, as well as their sexual desire and satisfaction. An abnormal result is associated with a higher anxiety level. On the other hand, a normal screening result improves sexual desire and satisfaction and reduces the anxiety level of the majority of participants.
