This Bass Connections project aimed to understand the logistics, efficacy and empowerment impact of an HPV and cervical cancer prevention peer-education model in Ventanilla, Peru.

Over Spring Break, the team interviewed and surveyed 20 community health workers (CHWs) from the HOPE Program in Ventanilla. Instruments included surveys based on relational empowerment and financial autonomy of CHWs in the HOPE Program. In addition, team members measured current barriers to screening to gain insight about the specific environment of Ventanilla.

When studying cost effectiveness, the team found that, in general, HPV vaccination has been shown to be cost-effective, but there are challenges to scale-up in low- and middle-income countries. For cervical cancer screening options in Peru, 1-visit VIA and HPV testing were the most cost-effective. Although studies for other Latin American countries have shown that HPV followed by cryotherapy (for HPV+) is cost-effective, there is a shortage of studies on see-and-treat models for Peru.

When examining policy, the team found the see-and-treat model would strengthen primary care in Peru and combat the health, educational and financial barriers that persist. There are many enabling factors to successfully implement the see-and-treat model in Peru that encompass the recommendations of research articles, ultimately leading to greater accessibility to care and narrowing inequalities in these sectors. A point should be made to emphasize the critical component proper screening education plays in the model’s success, as well as the role of the HOPE CHWs in establishing the importance of cervical cancer education and in combating cultural barriers of stigma.

Timing

Summer 2019 – Spring 2020

Team Outputs

Nimmi Ramanujam. HOPE: Women Helping Women Fiight Cervical Cancer Through Self-HPV and VIA testing ($75,000 grant awarded from Prevent Cancer Foundation, 2020)

Community Care and Triage (Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Virtual Showcase 2020)

Pocket Colposcope: Assessing the Acceptability, Cost-effectiveness and Policy Landscape of a Community-driven, See-and-treat Model for Tackling Cervical Cancer (poster by Karina Moreno Bueno, Caroline Doherty, Abigail Farley, Angel Heredia, Morgan McKinney, Rachel Mundaden, Lillian Zhu)

Videos

COVID-19 & Global Health Work in Peru (PART 2)

COVID-19 and Global Health Work in Peru

Bass Connections Peru Spring Break Trip 2020—Rachel Mudaden

Reflections

Lillian Zhu

This Team in the News

Research Methods and Creative Outputs from Interdisciplinary Teams

Educational Innovation: Beyond Methods Into Experiences – Part 2: The GWHT Network

Bass Connections: Pocket Colposcope

From Reluctant Engineer to Leader of Audacious Projects on Behalf of Women

New Hope for Fixing Health System Failures to Prevent and Treat Cervical Cancer

Hello from #Peru2020!

John Schmitt, MD, Receives Bass Connections Award

See earlier related team, Pocket Colposcope: Analysis of Bringing Elements of Referral Services to Primary/Community Care (2018-2019).

Image: Duke engineering professor Nimmi Ramanujam and postdoc Jenna Mueller with Pocket Colposcope prototype (by Jared Lazarus)