Overview

• About 30 to 40 percent of women in Germany skip routine gynecological screenings, raising their risk of undiagnosed HPV infections and cervical cancer.
• Since spring 2025, statutory insurers BIG direkt gesund, IKK Südwest, mhplus and SBK have offered at-home HPV self-test kits to women aged 20–34 who missed screening in the past two years.
• Self-tests involve a simple vaginal swab analyzed by PCR and are endorsed by leading gynecologists for their high reliability.
• A Hannover study of 20,000 non-screening women found an 8 percent positivity rate and detected one previously undiagnosed cervical cancer in its early stage.
• Despite early detection potential, a significant share of women with positive results do not pursue follow-up care, underscoring the need for strengthened referral pathways.