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A 5‐day educational program for teaching cervical cancer screening using visual inspection with acetic acid in low‐resource settings
Author(s) -
Levine Lisa D.,
Chudnoff Scott G.,
Taylor Kathleen,
Baganizi Michael,
Banks Erika
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1016/j.ijgo.2011.06.013
Subject(s) - medicine , educational program , cervical cancer , health care , cohort , multidisciplinary approach , program evaluation , test (biology) , family medicine , cancer , physical therapy , social science , sociology , political science , law , economics , economic growth , paleontology , public administration , biology
Objective To assess the effectiveness of an educational program in visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) for cervical cancer screening among healthcare providers in 2 low‐resource countries. Methods A cohort of multidisciplinary healthcare workers in Uganda and El Salvador were recruited to the study. A pretest was administered before the intervention of a 5‐day educational program on VIA. A posttest was performed immediately after the educational program and again at a 6‐month follow‐up visit to assess retention of knowledge. Results In total, 42 (93%) of the healthcare workers who participated in the educational program completed the initial posttest evaluation, and 18 (40%) healthcare workers completed the 6‐month follow‐up evaluation. Mean test scores increased after participation in the training session (62% versus 81%; P < 0.001). The self‐reported comfort level for identifying cellular abnormalities also increased (2.1 versus 3.3; P < 0.001). At 6‐month follow‐up, the mean test score remained higher than pretest scores (79% versus 57%; P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the initial and 6‐month posttest scores (80% versus 79%; P = 0.20). Conclusion The educational program in VIA provided healthcare workers with the tools potentially to decrease the morbidity and mortality of cervical cancer in the 2 low‐resource countries.