In 2023, the country’s cervical screening programme changed to offer the option of a vaginal swab self-test, or a clinician-taken cervical test.
University of Otago research, published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, assessed the practicality of the new programme.
Lead author and University of Otago obstetrics and gynaecology Associate Prof Peter Sykes said more than 3100 people who were due for a cervical screening test participated in the study and 95% opted for a self-test.
Human papilloma virus (HPV) was detected in 12.9% of them, and of those, 95% had a follow-up test.
He said there was a high recruitment rate across all ethnicities, along with a high capture rate of people who were overdue for a screen.
Feedback from participants and health practitioners revealed a strong preference for a self-test, because it gave women choice, convenience, ease and comfort.
Assoc Prof Sykes said New Zealand was the first country in the world to embrace cervical screening with the self-test as the primary screening tool.
He hoped the option would encourage more people to be screened - particularly Māori and Pacific women, and those living in higher socioeconomic deprivation who had historically been underserved by the national screening programme.
"Cervical screening is now better and easier and makes it more accessible to under-screened people.
"This research demonstrates the feasibility and outcome of this approach and how it may help screening inequity.
"With appropriate resources committed to screening and human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination, we could be one of the first countries in the world to effectively eliminate cervical cancer," he said.
Late last year, a similar survey found self-testing for HPV was also preferable, compared with having a clinician-led cervical smear test.
Lead author and University of Otago (Wellington) primary healthcare researcher Dr Sally Rose said the online survey found 81.8% of women chose to be screened using the self-test, and the majority found it "highly acceptable".
She said HPV was the major cause of cervical cancer and, if HPV was detected, then depending on the result, women could go on to have a clinician-led cervical cytology test (formerly known as a smear test) or be referred to a specialist for further testing.
Assoc Prof Sykes said cervical cancer was one of the most preventable cancers.
"We know what causes it and it takes a long time to develop with a pre-cancerous phase that can be treated."
By taking part in screening, the simple test could detect whether a person had certain "high-risk" types of HPV that might go on to cause pre-cancerous cell changes for a small proportion of those infected, he said
