The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #36684

Amy Corneli, MPH, CHES, Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, 410 Fairoaks Circle, Chapel Hill, NC 27516, 919-960-8049, amycorneli@aol.com, Lisa Baldwin, MPH, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, 300 Second Street, Suite 200, Los Altos, CA 94022, and Lynne Gaffikin, PhD, private consultant, 222 Goodale Road, Baltimore, MD 21202.

Cervical cancer continues to be a large public health problem in many countries because of limited access to screening and treatment. Each year approximately 400,000 new cases of cervical cancer occur—80% of these are among women living in developing countries.1,2 In response to promising studies on visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) for screening and positive experiences to date with cryotherapy as a low-cost outpatient method of treatment, JHPIEGO (in collaboration with the Royal Thai College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the MOH) linked VIA with the immediate offer of cryotherapy in the context of a safety, acceptability, feasibility and programmatic effort (SAFE) single visit approach (SVA) Demonstration Project in Roi-et, Thailand. As of December 2001, over 12,000 women had been screened using this approach, over 1,000 received cryotherapy treatment.

The success of this approach ultimately depends upon acceptance by policy makers, community leaders, women at risk and their partners. To document the acceptability of this approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with 49 stakeholders at the national, provincial, and district levels. Additionally, 26 in-depth interviews were conducted with women, and 18 with their partners. Selection criteria for the women were based upon test results.

Qualitative data were analyzed using a matrix-based approach. This involved assigning predetermined codes to subsections of the transcribed data. The codes represented important programmatic constructs including knowledge and understanding of cervical cancer, perceptions of risk, and barriers to seeking services. The findings suggest strengths and challenges of using such an approach to cervical cancer prevention.

Learning Objectives:

• 4. 1.Describe how acceptability was measured in the context of this project
  8. 2.Understand the strengths and limitations of the qualitative data analysis methods used for measuring acceptability
  12. 3.Articulate the level of acceptability observed among the various stakeholder groups of the SVA approach to cervical cancer prevention used

Keywords: Cervical Cancer, International Reproductive Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: JHPIEGO Corporation ACCP (Alliance for Cervical Cancer Prevention)
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Conducted qualitative interviews with SAFE Demonstration Project stakeholders in Thailand, as a paid consultant of JHPIEGO Corporation.