CHAPTER 6 Secondary prevention of cervical cancer

Cervical cancer continues to be the commonest cause of death among women in developing countries, largely due to the failure to initiate or sustain effective cytology-based screening programs. Experience from countries with successful screening programs indicates that target age and the extent of coverage of the target group are key indicators of success in reducing cervical cancer. Alternative methods for the secondary prevention of cervical cancer have been evaluated in numerous studies over the past 10 years in different countries. These include visual inspection with acetic acid and linking screening to treatment. Although longitudinal data are scanty, these alternative approaches have been shown to be feasible, acceptable, and effective in reducing cervical cancer.

Developing a culturally tailored short message service (SMS) intervention for improving the uptake of cervical cancer screening among Ghanaian women in urban communities

BACKGROUND

There has been extensive research across the globe to understand the barriers and facilitators of cervical cancer (CC) screening. However, few studies have focused on how such information has been used to develop text messages for mHealth screening programs, especially in resource-poor countries. This study elicited information on barriers and facilitators, the preferences of women regarding the modalities for delivery of health SMS messages on screening for cervical cancer, and demonstrates how this information was used to create a health screening program among women in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.

METHODS

Four main activities were carried out, including (1) a total of five focus group discussions, (2) a baseline survey involving 62 female bankers and 68 women from the communities, (3) a stakeholder meeting involving experts in cervical cancer research and clinical care, and (4) pilot testing of the text messages. Focus group discussions and the baseline survey data were collected concurrently between February and May 2017 and the results were used to develop 5 specific communication objectives during the stakeholder engagements held in June 2017.

RESULTS

In all, 32 text messages were developed and pretested in July 2017(13 addressed knowledge on CC; 6 highlighted the importance of early detection; 5 allayed fear as a barrier to CC screening; 5 encouraged women to have time for their health, and 3 messages contained information on where to go for screening and the cost involved). Although awareness about the disease was high, knowledge of CC screening was low. For two-thirds of respondents (22/33), perceived lack of time, high cost, and fear (of cc, screening procedure, and potential for negative outcome) accounted for the reasons why respondents will not go for screening, while education on CC, especially from health workers and the mass media enabled uptake of CC screening.

CONCLUSION

Several factors prevent women from accessing screening services for CC, however, barriers such as low levels of education on CC, lack of time, and fear can be targeted in SMS messaging programs.

Squamocolumnar junction visibility among cervical cancer screening population in Peru might influence upper age for screening programs

Cervical cancer screening and treatment of screen positives is an important and effective strategy to reduce cervical cancer morbidity and mortality. In order to have an accurate cervical cancer screening and evaluation of positives, the entire Squamocolumnar Junction (SCJ) must be visible. Throughout the life course, the position of the SCJ changes and affects its visibility. SCJ visibility was analyzed among participants screened at the League Against Cancer Clinic in Lima, Peru. Of the 4247 participants screened, the SCJ was fully visible in 49.7% of participants, partially visible in 23.1%, and not visible in 27.2%. Visibility decreased with age, and by age 45 years old, the SCJ was not fully visible in over 50% of participants. Our results show that a high percentage of participants at ages still recommended for screening do not have totally visible SCJ, and we may need to reconsider the upper age limit for screening and find new strategies for evaluation of those with a positive screening test and non-visible SCJ.

Prevalence of precancerous lesions and other cervical abnormalities among internally displaced women in Benue State Nigeria

Introduction

visual inspection is a low-cost screening strategy that can be used to prevent cervical cancer in women. These techniques can improve screening health outcomes for internally displaced women (IDW) who have poor sexual and reproductive health and rights' behaviors and outcomes. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of precancerous lesions and other clinical features using a visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) technique during a cervical cancer screening campaign in two internally displaced people (IDP) camps in Benue State, Nigeria.

Methods

this was a cross-sectional study of 166 IDW who voluntarily participated in the study during a VIA cervical cancer screening campaign in two IDP camps in Benue State, Nigeria the screening was done by a group of qualified and trained healthcare workers and data was collected using a structured, pretested questionnaire.

Results

a total of 99(60%) of the women had a first sexual experience at 16 years, while 78(47%) had more than 5 full-term pregnancies. Although only 72(43.4%) of the women acknowledged having more than one sexual partner, over 70% of the women stated that their sexual partner had another sexual partner. The prevalence of precancerous lesions among women was 10.8%. Smoking(p=0.003), age at menarche (p≤ 0.001) and sexual behaviors (p=0.009, p=0.004) were factors that had a statistically significant relationship with the presence of a precancerous lesion among the IDW. The study also highlights the high rate (95%) of cervicitis among the women and the relatively high rate (5.4%) of leukoplakia.

Conclusion

the majority of IDW had sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics that predisposed them to developing cervical cancer More targeted interventions aimed at improving the sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics of IDW are recommended. In addition, there is a need to create awareness about cervical cancer among IDW and make screening available in camp facilities for early detection and management.

Effectiveness of a culturally tailored text messaging program for promoting cervical cancer screening in accra, Ghana: a quasi-experimental trial

INTRODUCTION

Despite breakthroughs in cervical cancer detection, resource-constrained countries continue to have a disproportionately high incidence and death rate. Mhealth has been identified as an important tool for increasing cervical cancer screening rates in Sub-Saharan Africa. We determined whether sending Ghanaian women culturally tailored one-way mobile phone SMS text messages about cervical cancer would encourage the uptake of the human papillomavirus (HPV) test.

METHODS

From August to November 2016, 88 women aged 18 to 39 living or working in an urban community (Accra, Ghana) participated in a quasi-experimental study. For 8 weeks, 32 SMS messages regarding cervical cancer were developed and sent to the personal phones of intervention arm participants (n = 42). Women in the control group (n = 46) received SMS texts with general health and lifestyle advice. Fischer's exact tests were performed to assess cervical cancer screening uptake and associated reasons for non-uptake between the intervention and control groups (p < 0.05).

RESULTS

At the baseline, women differed in terms of ethnicity and wealth. After the intervention, participants' self-reported risk factors for cervical cancer, such as early menarche, usual source of medical treatment, family history of cancer, smoking, and alcohol history, changed. None of the women in the intervention group sought cervical cancer screening after the intervention, but only one (2.2%) of the control arm participants did. Almost all the women (> 95%) agreed that an HPV test was essential and that regular healthcare check-ups could help prevent cervical cancer. Some women believed that avoiding particular foods could help prevent cervical cancer (23.8% intervention vs. 58.7% control, p < 0.001). Time constraints and out-of-pocket expenses were significant barriers to cervical cancer screening.

CONCLUSION

A one-way SMS delivered to urban women did not increase cervical cancer screening attendance. The time spent in screening facilities and the lack of coverage by the National Health Insurance Scheme limited screening uptake. We urge for the establishment of screening centers in all healthcare facilities, as well as the inclusion of cervical cancer screening in healthcare programs through cost-sharing.