Evaluating changes in women's attitudes towards cervical screening following a screening promotion campaign and a free vaccination program. CHERE Working Paper 2009/3

This study examines behavioural changes brought about by two interventions introduced to lower the incidence of cervical cancer in Australia. The first intervention is a media campaign promoting regular screening behaviour to women. The second intervention is a vaccination program providing a free HPV vaccine, Gardasil, to young women launched in the same period. The results using data from discrete choice experiments find that in general, given individual characteristics, the interventions have minor impact on how women value screening attributes. The interventions however alter women?s inherent taste for screening. Unexpectedly, willingness to screen is generally lower post-interventions. The reason for this trend appears to be related to HPV events. For instance, the reduction in screening participation is particularly marked among young women who are eligible for the vaccination program. There is also a larger aversion towards testing among women who gained information on HPV facts and HPV-related measures. Thus, in the face of HPV innovations, screening promotions need to account for these factors. A simulation exercise is then performed to assess the plausibility of several strategies to increase the screening rate. The results nominate supply-side policies, in particular those targeted to health providers, as the most effective strategy.