Pan-Canadian survey on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cervical cancer screening and management: cross-sectional survey of healthcare professionals

Sep 24, 2026

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted cancer care by delaying diagnoses and treatment, creating challenges and uncertainties for patients and physicians. A nationwide online survey examined pandemic effects and pandemic-measure driven changes on cervical cancer screening activities in Canada from mid-March to mid-August 2020. Responses from healthcare professionals covered care continuity, including scheduling, tests, colposcopy, follow-up, treatment, and telemedicine adoption.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages30

Reading Time1 h 16 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Methods

Survey content and recruitment

Results

Conclusions

Introduction

Editor's evaluation

RESEARCH ARTICLE *For correspondence: [mariam.elzein@mcgill.ca](mariam.elzein@mcgill.ca) [Group author details:](Group author details:) Survey Study Group See page 27 Competing interest: See page 27 Funding: See page 27 Preprinted: 25 September 2022 Received: 28 September 2022 Accepted: 27 June 2023 Published: 28 June 2023 Reviewing Editor: Electra D Paskett, The Ohio State University, United States Copyright El-Zein et al. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use andredistribution provided that the original author and source are credited. Pan-Canadian survey on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cervical cancer screening and management: cross-sectional survey of healthcare professionals Mariam El-Zein*, Rami Ali, Eliya Farah, Sarah Botting-Provost, Eduardo L Franco, Survey Study Group Division of Cancer Epidemiology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada Abstract Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused disruptions to cancer care by delaying diagnoses and treatment, presenting challenges and uncertainties for both patients and physicians. We conducted a nationwide online survey to investigate the effects of the pandemic and capture modifications, prompted by pandemic-related control measures, on cervical cancer screening-related activities from mid-March to mid-August 2020, across Canada. Methods: The survey consisted of 61 questions related to the continuum of care in cervical cancer screening and treatment: appointment scheduling, tests, colposcopy, follow-up, treatment of precancerous lesions/cancer, and telemedicine. We piloted the survey with 21 Canadian experts in cervical cancer prevention and care. We partnered with the Society of Canadian Colposcopists, Society of Gynecologic Oncology of Canada, Canadian Association of Pathologists, and Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada, which distributed the survey to their members via email. We reached out to family physicians and nurse practitioners via MDBriefCase. The survey was also posted on McGill Channels (Department of Family Medicine News and Events) and social media platforms. The data were analyzed descriptively. Results: Unique responses were collected from 510 participants (November 16, 2020, to February 28, 2021), representing 418 fully and 92 partially completed surveys. Responses were from Ontario (41.0%), British Columbia (21.0%), and Alberta (12.8%), and mostly comprised family physicians/ general practitioners (43.7%), and gynecologist/obstetrician professionals (21.6%) . Cancelled screening appointments were mainly reported by family physicians/general practitioners (28.3%), followed by gynecologist/obstetrician professionals (19.8%), and primarily occurred in private clinics (30.5%) . Decreases in the number of screening Pap tests and colposcopy procedures were consistently observed across Canadian provinces. About 90% reported that their practice/institution adopted telemedicine to communicate with patients. Conclusions: The area most severely impacted by the pandemic was appointment scheduling, with an important level of cancellations reported. Survey results may inform resumptions of various frontsin cervical cancer screening and management. Funding: The present work was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (operating grant COVID-19 May 2020 Rapid Research Funding Opportunity VR5-172666 Rapid Research competition and foundation grant 143347 to Eduardo L Franco) . Eliya Farah and Rami Ali each received an MSc stipend from the Department of Oncology, McGill University. El-Zein et al. eLife 2023;12:e83764. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.83764](https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.83764) 1 of 30 Research article Epidemiology and Global Health | Medicine Editor's evaluation This study explored practitioners' assessments of the impact of the pandemic on cervical cancer

FAQs

What was the main purpose of the Pan-Canadian survey?

To investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic affected cervical cancer screening and management across Canada, including changes prompted by pandemic control measures.

What topics did the survey cover?

It included 61 questions covering the continuum of care: appointment scheduling, tests, colposcopy, follow-up, treatment of precancerous lesions/cancer, and telemedicine.

What were the key findings regarding screening and appointment scheduling?

Cancelled screening appointments were reported, and decreases in Pap tests and colposcopy procedures were observed across Canadian provinces; about 90% reported adoption of telemedicine to communicate with patients.

Sep 24, 2026

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