A simple statement can increase women's understanding of a normal smear test result

Women who receive normal smear test results need to understand that they have a low risk of developing cervical cancer, not no risk at all. Marteau et al (p 526) found that only 52% of a sample of women from the general public correctly understood that "normal smear result" meant there was still a risk of cervical cancer. Adding a simple statement that "normal smear result" means they are at low risk resulted in 70% correctly understanding the result. Quantifying low risk, using absolute and relative risks, did not improve understanding further. Adding this one statement could prevent as many as half a million women a year misunderstanding their negative smear result.

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Relevant Article

Women's understanding of a "normal smear test result": experimental questionnaire based study

Theresa M Marteau, Vicky Senior, and Peter Sasieni
BMJ 2001 322: 526-528. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]