{"id":50441,"date":"2025-09-29T17:10:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T17:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/50441\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T17:10:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T17:10:08","slug":"hpv-self-testing-is-working-lets-celebrate-the-progress-gabrielle-lord","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/50441\/","title":{"rendered":"HPV self-testing is working, let\u2019s celebrate the progress – Gabrielle Lord"},"content":{"rendered":"

We acknowledge the leadership and great commitment from our general practice teams, as these are not just numbers. Instead, they represent the thousands of women who are now better protected against cervical cancer which is a fantastic result for women across the motu. <\/p>\n

Of course, there is still more to do \u2013 but it is worth celebrating the progress we\u2019ve made to date. <\/p>\n

What\u2019s driving this success? <\/p>\n

Best practice lies in being grounded in\u202fequity, empathy and empowerment, which results in saving lives. <\/p>\n

Practical and tangible actions provide a blueprint for success. Some of these steps we\u2019ve taken to help our practices achieve these results include: <\/p>\n

Clear communication: We\u2019ve encouraged our practices to let patients know they\u2019re eligible for the HPV self-swab, not just a smear, and ensure they understand the process to reduce fear, confusion or whakam\u0101 (embarrassment). We also recommend the use of simple, plain language, for example, \u201cWe can show you how you can do the test yourself in private.\u201d Culturally safe care: We\u2019ve helped practices create culturally safe spaces by ensuring the basics are done well, such as greeting patients in their own language and ensuring names are pronounced correctly, and we offer practices support through our free cultural apps \u2014\u202fihi\u202f(te reo M\u0101ori) and\u202fTala-Moana\u202f(Pacific languages). Accessible resources: Materials are available in multiple languages for practices to use with patients, we\u2019ve co-designed initiatives with M\u0101ori and Pacific advisers from across communities, and we\u2019ve attended community events to help raise health literacy. Inclusive engagement: We\u2019ve helped our practices to reach out to non-enrolled individuals, recommend they extend clinical hours during promotional periods like cervical awareness month, and provided training to ensure wh\u0101nau-centred care Trauma-informed practice: We\u2019ve encouraged practices to acknowledge feelings of shame, allow space for k\u014drero, and welcome support people at appointments. Use funding streams wisely: We\u2019ve guided practices to utilise funding streams to provide free screening, thereby addressing financial barriers that may be place for some patients. Partnered with Smear your Mea, a M\u0101ori health charity which promotes the importance of cervical cancer screening, and attended Te Matatini to raise awareness, promote advocacy and support through the detection, treatment, and prevention of cervical cancer for kaihaka (performers), wh\u0101nau and hapori. Advocated to the Ministry of Health for the wider workforce to be able to provide this test, not just those who are authorised smear takers. Used Ara Hauora, our mobile health service, to deliver health education, have culturally safe k\u014drero, increase health literacy, and provide women with self-swabs in the privacy of their own home. <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s build on this momentum <\/p>\n

We agree that women\u2019s health deserves urgency and investment. As a nurse I\u2019ve seen, and heard, first-hand from our practice teams that there\u202fare many barriers for\u202fw\u0101hine to engage with cervical screening, for example cost, time, multiple conflicting priorities, alongside the invasiveness of the previous screening technique which the HPV self-testing now goes a long way to mitigate. <\/p>\n

\"GabrielleGabrielle Lord is the Nursing Director and General Manager Clinical and Practice Services at ProCare. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s also important to recognise and celebrate what\u2019s working. The HPV self-testing rollout is a significant step forward \u2013 and with continued focus on equity and access, we can accelerate progress even further, particularly when we ensure that HPV vaccination is an essential pillar of the overall approach to cervical cancer prevention. <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not lose sight of the gains. Let\u2019s build on them. As one of our practices told us recently: \u201cTwo years ago, our clinic was sitting at 58%. The self-testing has given our M\u0101ori and Pacific women the control and mana they needed. We have worked hard over the last couple of years to reach 70%. We still have a way to reach the 80% national target, and we even have aspirations of reaching 90%+! But we need to make it easier for women to access these tests \u2013 particularly Pasifika and M\u0101ori women who are disproportionately affected by cervical cancer.\u201d <\/p>\n

We dream of a future where all women are protected from this entirely preventable disease. <\/p>\n

Gabrielle Lord is the nursing director and general manager clinical and practice services at ProCare.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We acknowledge the leadership and great commitment from our general practice teams, as these are not just numbers.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50442,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[177,3278,33960,134,43697,185,17510,10539,111,139,69,13194,43698,223,19135],"class_list":["post-50441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-celebrate","tag-facts","tag-gabrielle","tag-health","tag-hpv","tag-is","tag-lets","tag-lord","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-progress","tag-selftesting","tag-the","tag-working"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}