This review uncovers the extent to which immigrant and minority women find HPV self-sampling an acceptable and feasible alternative to PAP testing for screening for cervical cancer. A focused literature review was conducted using CINAHL, Medline, Proquest and Pubmed databases to search for content relating to acceptability or feasibility of HPV self-testing for immigrant populations or minorities. 575 prospective relevant papers were included in the final analysis and 28 selected using the inclusion and exclusion criteria. HPV self-sampling was found to be acceptable and feasible among immigrant and minority women. Participants studied indicated the importance of providing in-depth educational documents, diagrams, illustrations and supplementary resources in future HPV self-sampling studies. HPV self-sampling has the potential to significantly increase cervical cancer screening participation rates amongst immigrant and minority women. Future research studies should incorporate methods to increase the efficacy and acceptability of HPV self-testing amongst immigrant and minority women.
Keywords: Cervical cancer screening; Ethnic minorities; HPV self-sampling; Human papillomavirus; Immigrant women.