Effects of Web-Based Decision Aid to Support Cervical Cancer Screening Decision Among Young Working Women: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial

Background: Young working women who devote most of their time to jobs and household chores may experience conflicts when faced with a cervical cancer screening decision. This study aimed to assess the acceptability and feasibility of a Web-based decision aid on cervical cancer screening by young working women, and to preliminarily examine the effects of the decision aid on the knowledge level, risk perception, decisional conflicts, screening decision and screening uptake.

Method: This was a pilot randomised controlled trial. A total of 158 working women aged 25-44 years who had not undergone cervical cancer screening in the past 3 years were recruited. The recruited women allocated to the intervention group received a Web-based decision aid with information about the Papanicolaou test and HPV test, whereas the control group received usual care, i.e. a fact sheet about a healthy living.

Results: A total of 138 of them (72 in the intervention group and 66 in the control group) completed the study and the screening uptake assessment. The intervention group showed greater improvement in the subscale scores and the overall scores for decisional conflicts (effect size, 0.71-0.90), and a statistical significantly larger proportion of the intervention group had undergone cervical cancer screening when compared to the control group (31.9% vs 6.1%). Most interviewees were satisfied with the intervention.

Conclusion: It was feasible and acceptable to implement the Web-based decision aid to young working women. The preliminary findings suggest that the decision aid could help to reduce decisional conflicts and encourage uptake of screening. Full-scale studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Trial registration: This study was registered at the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number Registry (ISRCTN59163820) on 4 August 2022.