[Health agents' perspective on the incorporation of self-collected samples in HPV screening programs].

The objective of this study was to analyze health agents' perception of self-collecting of samples for HPV testing among women and the degree of agreement by the agents to incorporate this approach into their daily tasks. A self-administered questionnaire was applied to 127/191 health agents that participated in the EMA Project (Proyecto Evaluación Modalidad Autotoma) in the province of Jujuy, Argentina, in 2012-2013. The health agents with and without the experience of offering self-collected sampling expressed a high degree of agreement towards adoption of the strategy (78.7%), given its potential to prevent cervical cancer and its contribution to health care for the women under their coverage. However, the health agents identified the extra work and problems linking to the formal health system as the main barriers to offering this modality in the future. The study found that self-collecting of samples is a practice that can be adopted by health agents in the province of Jujuy, but that it should be accompanied by support measures from the formal health system.