There needs to be a proactive approach rather than a reactive one. Cytologists be retrained to histology. It may be hard for them to change areas, though. Universities were not involved in the consultation process. If cytologist numbers are going to be reduced, conversations will need to happen with universities to alter the training programmes they provide. Equity Better education in the schools HPV, the vaccine, and screens is needed. This is important for informed consent. This includes how it is presented to parents, who are currently told it’s a vaccine for sexually transmitted infections, is a negative framing. The rates of screening non-attendance are quite high for Maori and Pacific women, so how will the NSU cope with a potential increase? 80-90% of women clear the HPV infection, but most women do not understand that may occur naturally without treatment. Telling them they have the virus creates an environment that carries high anxiety, etc. Better education is needed to address this Will screens be free? If the government was concerned about priority group women, their smears would be free. Categorising women as women” based on their ethnicity might change to their “priority HPV immunisation status. NSU needs to consider this. Language used the programme needs to be careful. It won’t be a test “smear” anymore. It also is not a cancer vaccine,” which may cause women to think they’re “cervical fully protected against cancer. Immunisation Why not vaccinate boys? Gardasil has been introduced for boys in Australia. Why not use a two-dose immunisation? Money saved by not administering the third dose could be used elsewhere. Further research There is a need to examine the immunisation coverage rate for Maori and Asian women. It will be important to monitor different HPV to see if there are any changes over a couple of years with increased immunisations, screenings, etc. Additional feedback What about immune-suppressed women? Is there a different algorithm for them? With the specificity of the test, would the programme accept HPV tests from overseas? Will migrant women from overseas be screened as a part of the programme? Overseas smear tests are not currently accepted. Could this be part of an immigration medical check? If there is a significant rise in HPV, how will the NSU manage this?
There needs to be a proactive approach rather than a reactive one. Cytologists be retrained to histology. It may be hard for them to change areas, though. Universities were not involved in the consultation process. If cytologist numbers are going to be reduced, conversations will need to happen with universities to alter the training programmes they provide. Equity Better education in the schools HPV, the vaccine, and screens is needed. This is important for informed consent. This includes how it is presented to parents, who are currently told it’s a vaccine for sexually transmitted infections, is a negative framing. The rates of screening non-attendance are quite high for Maori and Pacific women, so how will the NSU cope with a potential increase? 80-90% of women clear the HPV infection, but most women do not understand that may occur naturally without treatment. Telling them they have the virus creates an environment that carries high anxiety, etc. Better education is needed to address this Will screens be free? If the government was concerned about priority group women, their smears would be free. Categorising women as “priority women” based on their ethnicity might change to their HPV immunisation status. NSU needs to consider this. Language used the programme needs to be careful. It won’t be a “smear” test anymore. It also is not a “cervical cancer vaccine,” which may cause women to think they’re fully protected against cancer. Immunisation Why not vaccinate boys? Gardasil has been introduced for boys in Australia. Why not use a two-dose immunisation? Money saved by not administering the third dose could be used elsewhere. Further research There is a need to examine the immunisation coverage rate for Maori and Asian women. It will be important to monitor different HPV to see if there are any changes over a couple of years with increased immunisations, screenings, etc. Additional feedback What about immune-suppressed women? Is there a different algorithm for them? With the specificity of the test, would the programme accept HPV tests from overseas? Will migrant women from overseas be screened as a part of the programme? Overseas smear tests are not currently accepted. Could this be part of an immigration medical check? If there is a significant rise in HPV, how will the NSU manage this?
consultation_meetings_submissions.docx