Table 4:

User experiences, summary of emergent themes from reflection and focus group.

Summary of emergent themes from reflection and focus group, user experiences
Theme	Description	Representative quotes
Initial perception of the device and the process of self-examination	Many women indicated fear before starting exam, attributed to device texture and/or concept of self-imaging their own cervix.	“Doing my own exam sounded a bit complicated at the beginning.” “It really made me sweat.”
		“My first impression, I thought it was going to graze [my vaginal walls], it was going to hurt because of how rough it felt when I first saw it.”
Exam preferences	Some women preferred to use the Callascope privately, but many women completed the exam with assistance or guidance from household members.	“I waited for everyone to leave for work, locked my door and started to insert.”
		“When my husband was sleeping and I started, though I was a little bit nervous.”
		“During all this my husband woke up and he also saw the image. He was looking at the cell phone while I was moving it. He would say, move it a little more, a little more up. He took my picture, and I would wait [for him to] see.”
Importance of following the instructions and having some support	Following instructions were mentioned by several women as an important part of their experience.	“When introducing it, following all the steps is important”, because I think that if I had not had that practice-seeing and doing it-I may not have done it [on my own].”
		“At that moment, I called Dr. Maria asking what I can do to see my uterus, yeah. [She] told me to do it like this and like that.”
		“When I got home I followed all the instructions.”
Comfort of exam	Most women indicated no discomfort during the self-examination.	“I have done it without pain, without discomfort, without anything, all calm.”
		“I didn’t feel pain.”
		“I have not felt much discomfort.”
		“Everything went fine; I did not feel any pain.”
Better experience than with speculum and provider	Some women specifically stated that the experience was much better (comfort, fear, etc.) than a speculum-based pelvic exam.	“Seeing it like that without pain, without [feeling] nothing, because I’ve had very bad experience[s] with the speculum in the hospitals where I’ve had them [exams] done with, um, pain or burning even on the day after too, uncomfortable. But now not with the Calla; I have felt very good and didn’t feel anything.”
How the whole experience of using the callascope was seen	All women indicated that some aspect of the experience was positive and insightful.	“I was so interested about what this was, the cervix, to see it in this way.”
		“For me it has been a very pleasant experience, because it is the first time that I can see [this] part of my body, my organism through a camera.”
		“It has been a really great experience, something new.”
		“For me, it was an experience, a very good one to be honest.”
		“It was a good experience and above all, it allows us to confirm how our cervix is doing. ”
		“I really would also recommend other people who can, to have it done, because it is not the same as doing it yourself as when a doctor does it, a professional. ”
		“What struck me was seeing how the body is, always being thorough to see on both sides to visualize well with the camera, because when you have an exam, uh, with a, well in the health area, they do it as if separate from you.”
Would recommend use or try again	All women indicated that they would likely recommend device use or try again.	“The experience was really very favorable; simple without pain and I would recommend women do it, I really do. That is my experience.”
		“I would really recommend other women to do it because it is important for us to do it.”