Integrating Cervical Cancer Screening and Syndromic Management of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Resource-Limited Settings in India

Background: In India, annually, there are more than 120,000 women diagnosed with cervical cancer and more than half of them die of the disease. The link between cervical cancer and high-risk type of human papilloma virus (HPV) is well-established. In addition to this, low-risk type HPV can lead to sexually transmitted infections (STIs). It is believed that 6% of Indian adult population is affected by one or more STIs. However, due to geographical and socioeconomic barriers, rural and poor women do not always have access to updated sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and relevant services, resulting in the delay of treatment. To address these challenges and to strengthen the existing health system, Family Planning Association of India (FPA India), a national level voluntary organization, integrated cervical cancer and STIs services into a 2-year project and delivered it in urban slums and rural areas. Aim: To evaluate the impact of integrated cervical cancer and STIs services in the resource-limited settings in India. Methods: FPA India implemented the integrated package through six branch health facilities to raise people's awareness and build institutional capacity for the screening of women. All detailed process is summarized in Fig 1. Data, such as the number of cervical cancer screening and syndromic treatment, was collected. Results: More than 14,000 people were reached and 14 service providers including midlevel providers were trained. The number of services significantly improved in the selected 6 branches and in all branches of FPA India. The numbers for syndromic treatment of STIs almost doubled in the selected 6 branches and showed a 50% rise in all the branches. The number of cervical cancer screenings was 2938 and 9862, before and after the project, respectively in the selected 6 branches. The progress nearly doubled at the whole association level. Additionally, in this project, the progress of visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid (VIA) and Lugol´s iodine (VILI) was remarkable whether in 6 selected branches or in all branches. At the end of project implementation, VIA/VILI accounted for 90% of all cervical cancer screenings. Data are summarized in Table 1. Conclusion: This study presents FPA India's operational experience in carrying out integrated cervical cancer and STIs services, in urban slums and rural areas. This project reaffirms that raising people's awareness and building institutional capacity are core approaches to deliver certain SRH information and services as well as achieve better SRH outcomes. The shift from Papanicolaou test to VIA/VILI may be related to VIA/VILI's sensitivity, quick results and affordability. However, more studies are needed to explain this change.[Figure: see text][Table: see text]