Psychological side-effects of the mass screening on cervical cancer.

The results are reported of a study on the psychological side-effects of mass screening for cervical cancer in Rotterdam. The reactions of participants towards a positive smear and towards the treatment which followed the positive smear were analysed. Women who had problems with a positive smear and with a serious disorder which necessitated an operation and hospitalization had problems with the treatment. However, most women who underwent the operation did not have lasting problems of either a psychological or somatic nature. Women who had been treated by their G.P.s or by a gynaecologist in most cases did not have problems with their treatment. The final conclusion was that mass screening for cervical cancer in Rotterdam caused psychological side-effects to occur among women with a positive smear. However, for the majority of women with a positive smear they were not of a lasting or serious nature.

Patient education: a component of health education.

Because health education is aimed at influencing behavior capable of affecting health and disease, patient education is a important constituent of health education. Patient education should demonstrably lead to increased self-assurance, reduced anxiety, better insight into one's ailments, more knowledge about the effects of medicines administered, greater self-acceptance after surgery, and improved social contacts among the chronically ill. It well deserves a place in primary health care. Patient education is not widely practiced in the Netherlands. Small-scale experiments are needed to establish effective modes of intervention.