ACCESS: Accelerating Cervical Cancer Elimination through the integration of Screen-and-treat Services
Program Summary This study uses the natural laboratory of Nigeria to test the comparative effectiveness of two sets of implementation strategies to engage HIV patients in cervical cancer screening and treatments at scale. If successful, these implementation strategies can be adapted for engaging HIV patients in cervical cancer screening and treatment in low income and rural areas in the United States. Nigeria has the largest population of women and the 4th largest number of women living with HIV (WLHIV) in Africa. Although access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) among WLHIV in Nigeria has increased over the years, with over 98% of the 960,000 WLHIV on ART, AIDS-related mortality remains high. In 2020, 16,000 WLHIV died from AIDS related illnesses including cervical cancer. A pilot implementation program in Nigeria demonstrated that leveraging the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) supported HIV programs for the provision of evidence-based cervical cancer screen-and-treat interventions in WLWH is feasible. The pilot program demonstrated, however, that tailored implementation strategies are needed to address specific multilevel barriers along the cancer control continuum to address adoption, reach, and sustainment that are necessary for successful scale-up in low-resource settings. However, in regions of the United States with the burden of both HIV and cervical cancer, there is a paucity of evidence-based implementation strategies to inform effective integration of HIV and cervical cancer services delivery. Objectives of this proposal are to: 1) Refine strategies to integrate cervical cancer screening, treatment and management within existing comprehensive HIV treatment programs and determine implementation readiness; 2) Determine the comparative effectiveness of a Core set of implementation strategies versus Core+ enhanced implementation strategies; and 3) assess sustainment of the integration of cervical cancer screening, treatment, and management intervention into HIV programs. We have assembled a strong team from University of California San Diego; University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and Northeastern University with expertise in implementation science, HIV care and research, and cancer care and research. Our proposal is responsive to the NCI RFA and consistent with the World Health Organization global plan of elimination of cervical cancer by 2030. If effective, the proposed project will result in a set of feasible, culturally adaptable, and sustainable implementation strategies to integrate evidence-based cervical cancer screening and treatment into HIV programs in the United States in order to improve the health and life expectancy of WLHIV.
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Imported from NIH RePORTER | Grant 5U01CA275118-05.
Open sourceOverview
Grant agreement 5U01CA275118-05
Open sourceProgram Summary This study uses the natural laboratory of Nigeria to test the comparative effectiveness of two sets of implementation strategies to engage HIV patients in cervical cancer screening and treatments at scale. If successful, these implementation strategies can be adapted for engaging HIV patients in cervical cancer screening and treatment in low income and rural areas in the United States. Nigeria has the largest population of women and the 4th largest number of women living with HIV (WLHIV) in Africa. Although access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) among WLHIV in Nigeria has increased over the years, with over 98% of the 960,000 WLHIV on ART, AIDS-related mortality remains high. In 2020, 16,000 WLHIV died from AIDS related illnesses including cervical cancer. A pilot implementation program in Nigeria demonstrated that leveraging the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) supported HIV programs for the provision of evidence-based cervical cancer screen-and-treat interventions in WLWH is feasible. The pilot program demonstrated, however, that tailored implementation strategies are needed to address specific multilevel barriers along the cancer control continuum to address adoption, reach, and sustainment that are necessary for successful scale-up in low-resource settings. However, in regions of the United States with the burden of both HIV and cervical cancer, there is a paucity of evidence-based implementation strategies to inform effective integration of HIV and cervical cancer services delivery. Objectives of this proposal are to: 1) Refine strategies to integrate cervical cancer screening, treatment and management within existing comprehensive HIV treatment programs and determine implementation readiness; 2) Determine the comparative effectiveness of a Core set of implementation strategies versus Core+ enhanced implementation strategies; and 3) assess sustainment of the integration of cervical cancer screening, treatment, and management intervention into HIV programs. We have assembled a strong team from University of California San Diego; University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and Northeastern University with expertise in implementation science, HIV care and research, and cancer care and research. Our proposal is responsive to the NCI RFA and consistent with the World Health Organization global plan of elimination of cervical cancer by 2030. If effective, the proposed project will result in a set of feasible, culturally adaptable, and sustainable implementation strategies to integrate evidence-based cervical cancer screening and treatment into HIV programs in the United States in order to improve the health and life expectancy of WLHIV.