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HHS backed at-home cervical cancer screening. Will women use it?

Women still prefer in-office sampling, but at-home cervical cancer screening is preferred by traditionally underserved patients who might be behind on their screenings.

Sara Heath
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Published: 09 Feb 2026

Earlier this year, the Department of Health and Human Services gave its official endorsement of at-home cervical cancer screening, saying the new option for women of mid-level risk could help close cancer screening gaps.

In a new report in JAMA Network Open, researchers double down on that hypothesis, even though women mostly report they'd prefer an in-office screen.

Importantly, at-home cervical cancer screening was popular among women who've previously experience discrimination in a healthcare setting and those overdue for a test, making it a good option for closing care gaps for key populations.

Closing care gaps, especially cancer screening gaps, is a key population health goal. April 2025 data from the Prevent Cancer Foundation showed that cancer screening rates had sunk to just 51%, a significant 10 percentage-point downswing from the 2024 version of the report.

The reasons behind these care gaps are complex, but one key issue could be convenience of care. In the case of cervical cancer screening, in particular, patients might also be worried about the physical discomfort that can come with more traditional testing methods, such as cytology-based organized screening or Pap tests.

Enter HPV tests, which the researchers said are more sensitive and specific at detecting precancerous cervical lesions.

"A key advantage of HPV testing over cytology is that HPV testing can be performed on specimens collected by women themselves (as opposed to samples collected by health care practitioners) without losing its diagnostic accuracy," the researchers said.

This means at-home HPV testing -- which has now been endorsed by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, American Cancer Society and HHS by way of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) -- can help overcome many of the biggest hurdles to traditional, office-based testing. These hurdles include embarrassment, lack of trust in the health system and difficulty scheduling or getting to office appointments.

With at-home cervical cancer screening now encouraged by leading public health entities, will women adopt? According to this latest JAMA report, they could -- at least among the most underserved.

At-home cervical cancer screening address trust issues

The researchers used data from the 2024 Health Interview National Trends Survey to analyze responses about how women would prefer to do a cervical cancer screening test. Possible responses included the following:

  • To have a healthcare clinician do the test in the office or clinic.
  • To self-collect specimen for testing at home.
  • Not knowing which option to choose.
  • Not applicable.

Surprisingly, clinic-based testing remained the most popular method for getting a cervical cancer screening, with 61% of women saying as much. Meanwhile, 20% said they'd prefer at-home self-sampling, while 19% were unsure about their choice.

These findings might seem to go against the logic of agencies like HHS and HRSA. However, it should be noted that the inclusion of at-home testing does not take away the option for women to receive cervical cancer screening tests in the clinic with their providers. Therefore, endorsing at-home testing will not take away from those who opt for in-office testing.

It's also important to assess the why behind women selecting at-home sampling, as this reveals notable trends regarding patient trust.

Specifically, women who have experienced discrimination or prejudice in a medical setting were about twice as likely to prefer at-home self-sampling compared to in-office sampling. The most common reasons for selecting at-home cervical cancer screening included privacy, time constraints and fear of embarrassment.

What's more, women who preferred at-home screening were also more likely to be overdue for their cervical cancer screening.

In other words, at-home cervical cancer screening has the potential to improve screening rates among traditionally marginalized groups and those who otherwise might not get tested.

Still, it will be important to address racial gaps, the researchers said, especially as racial and ethnic minorities are at higher risk for cervical cancer diagnosis and mortality.

For example, non-Hispanic Black people were less likely to say they'd choose an at-home test, a trend the researchers said could indicate a lack of confidence in performing a self-swab. Culturally tailored patient education reviewing how to perform at-home cervical cancer screenings, as well as the safety and effectiveness of doing so, could help close care gaps further.

"To reverse the declining trends observed in cervical cancer screening adherence in the past two decades in the U.S., breakthrough approaches, such as home-based self-sampling, that can potentially reduce health disparities by increasing screening participation among hard-to-reach and underscreened populations should be adopted and implemented," the researchers concluded.

"Future studies conducted in routine clinical settings are needed to understand the mechanisms that underpin the observed association between individual-, community- and system-level factors and women’s preference for at-home self-sampling."

Sara Heath has reported news related to patient engagement and health equity since 2015.

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