Women's experience of colposcopy: a qualitative investigation

Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 women newly referred for colposcopy in the West Midlands, UK. The interviews were designed to elicit the experience of colposcopy from the patients' perspective.The eight emerging themes were catogised as three overarching concepts, which were: feelings of emotional reaction, choices being accommodated and time delays. Women felt very apprehensive before their appointment, but when attending, appreciated being consulted about their preferences. Delays in referral and feeling 'rushed' by staff impacted negatively on women's experience.Service changes in information provision and increased respect for dignity seem to have improved the experience that women have of colposcopy, however, this does not appear to have translated into decreased anxiety. Women still have strong emotional reactions to being referred for, and attending, colposcopy appointments. Staff taking time to explain the diagnosis fully, and discuss their preferences about aspects of their consultation can alleviate their anxiety.For over 20 years the UK NHS has run a call-recall programme, systematically inviting women to attend for cervical screening. Annual figures indicate that of those screened over 100,000 women are referred for further investigation consisting of colposcopic examination, yet only a minority of those attending colposcopy go on to receive treatment [1]. Consequently, every year many thousands of women are attending appointments at which they may not require any further medical treatment, and will be discharged. Although this is fundamentally unavoidable in any screening system, for cervical screening it brings an added psychological burden for two reasons; 1. The location of the cervix inevitably means that the investigation is necessarily intimate, and 2. Women attending screening are mainly asymptomatic, thus the referral to colposcopy introduces the idea of medical disease to them, which they have no measure of (no lump, pelv