. 2025 Aug 22;15:30928. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-16248-2

Table 3.

Descriptive quotes for theme 2- acceptability of HPV self-sampling. The words in the brackets are the additions by the authors to clarify the context of participants’ quotes.

Sub-theme	Descriptive quotes
2a. Self-sampling overcomes the barriers to physician-based screening methods.	I think for young women, the fourth method [i.e., HPV self-sampling] is more appropriate. First, it is because they have to work. Going to hospitals often takes the whole morning. Second, they would be embarrassed [of visiting doctors for screening], so they should self-collect the sample. That [i.e., HPV self-sampling] is convenient. Sometimes people in remote rural areas can’t visit doctors. Busy people can’t visit doctors. They can send the samples to the hospital [for HPV testing]. […] Similar to COVID-19 [self-testing], we can do it at home, and don’t have to go to dangerous places [i.e., crowded places with high risk of COVID-19 transmission].
2b. Concerns about self-sampling but being willing to try	It [i.e., the self-sampling device] seems a bit stiff. Would it hurt when I inserted it inside [my vagina]? It scares me! […] Putting such a stiff thing inside [my vagina] will hurt a lot. It can even bleed if I’m not careful. We live in remote areas. [If] doctors come [to the community] and guide us [on how to self-sample] the first time and the second time, we will get used to it. Then I can [self-sample] at home the next time. In general, if it [i.e., an HPV self-sampling device] is in the market, I will be able to [self-sample]. It’s like COVID-19 [self-]testing, the one with nose poking. We should self-collect samples at home, they [i.e., healthcare providers] can’t always do it for us.
2c. Concerns of mailing the samples and potential solutions	I can self-sample or I can ask my husband to do it for me, but I think sending [the self-collected sample] via mail is laborious, and I wonder if the fluid is still qualified for testing when it arrives [at the hospital/lab]. If women don’t want to drop the samples off at a post office, they should be able to drop them off at the community health center. The community health center will gather the samples with barcodes on them and give women a receipt. Going to the community health center is less cumbersome than dropping the samples off at a post office.

Sub-theme

Descriptive quotes

2a. Self-sampling overcomes the barriers to physician-based screening methods.

I think for young women, the fourth method [i.e., HPV self-sampling] is more appropriate. First, it is because they have to work. Going to hospitals often takes the whole morning. Second, they would be embarrassed [of visiting doctors for screening], so they should self-collect the sample.

That [i.e., HPV self-sampling] is convenient. Sometimes people in remote rural areas can’t visit doctors. Busy people can’t visit doctors. They can send the samples to the hospital [for HPV testing]. […] Similar to COVID-19 [self-testing], we can do it at home, and don’t have to go to dangerous places [i.e., crowded places with high risk of COVID-19 transmission].

2b. Concerns about self-sampling but being willing to try

It [i.e., the self-sampling device] seems a bit stiff. Would it hurt when I inserted it inside [my vagina]? It scares me! […] Putting such a stiff thing inside [my vagina] will hurt a lot. It can even bleed if I’m not careful.

We live in remote areas. [If] doctors come [to the community] and guide us [on how to self-sample] the first time and the second time, we will get used to it. Then I can [self-sample] at home the next time.

In general, if it [i.e., an HPV self-sampling device] is in the market, I will be able to [self-sample]. It’s like COVID-19 [self-]testing, the one with nose poking. We should self-collect samples at home, they [i.e., healthcare providers] can’t always do it for us.

2c. Concerns of mailing the samples and potential solutions

I can self-sample or I can ask my husband to do it for me, but I think sending [the self-collected sample] via mail is laborious, and I wonder if the fluid is still qualified for testing when it arrives [at the hospital/lab].

If women don’t want to drop the samples off at a post office, they should be able to drop them off at the community health center. The community health center will gather the samples with barcodes on them and give women a receipt. Going to the community health center is less cumbersome than dropping the samples off at a post office.