All women could choose to self-collect their own samples for HPV testing under changes to cervical screening being canvassed by the Federal Health Department.

The department is undertaking a targeted consultation on the National Cervical Screening Program policy that limits self-collection to women 30 or older who have never participated in cervical screening or are more than two years overdue for a test.

Under the proposal, aimed at boosting screening participation, any woman could choose between a self-collected vaginal swab or having a clinician do a cervical swab — but a consultation with a doctor must come first.

A key rationale for the change is a 2018 meta-analysis, published in the BMJ, which showed equivalent sensitivity of PCR tests on self-collected vaginal swabs, compared with clinician-collected samples, according to the consultation document provided to Australian Doctor.