Marrying research, clinical practice and cervical screening in Australian Aboriginal women in western New South Wales, Australia

Research shows that Australian Aboriginal women experience a significantly higher rate of mortality from cervical cancer than non-Aboriginal women. As infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is a necessary prerequisite for cervical cancer, a research project, the 'Women, Human papilloma virus prevalence, Indigenous, Non indigenous, Urban, Rural Study' (WHINURS) was designed to obtain nationally representative HPV genotyping data for Australian women, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, when they presented for their routine cervical screen. Family Planning NSW provided an investigator site in western NSW with the intention to recruit 50 Aboriginal women and 100 non-Aboriginal women. The FPNSW Dubbo team devised a series of strategies to maximise recruitment when this did not progress according to plan. Collaborative community-based consultation, as well as the research study itself, increased the number of Aboriginal women accessing cervical screening at the family planning clinic. This was sustained a year after the conclusion of the study.