Abstract
Issue
In 2018, the mortality due to cervical cancer rose by 6.9 compared to the previous year, with 311.365 deaths in total. By 2030, it is estimated that there will be a 21.3% increase in incidence and 26.7% in mortality. In Colombia, cervical cancer is the second cause of death by cancer in women.
Description of the Problem
We present the design process of innovative prototypes for cervical cancer prevention in primary care centers located in low-income settings in Cali, Colombia, using the Human-Centered Design (HCD) approach. The practice was developed in collaboration with a public healthcare network comprised of 38 urban and rural centers with women between the ages of 25 and 65 years, healthcare providers of the cancer program, healthcare managers. We conducted five HCD stages: research, need synthesis, ideation and co-design process, prototyping and in-context usability testing. We used observations, open-ended interviews and conversations, multi-stakeholder workshops, focus groups, systematic text condensation analyses and tests in real contexts.
Results
We designed four prototypes: (1) 'Encanto': An educational manicure service, (2) 'No le des la espalda a la citología': A media-based strategy, (3) An educational wireless queuing device in the waiting room, and (4) Citobot: A cervical cancer early detection device, system, and method.
Lessons
The tests carried out with each prototype showed their value, limitations and possibilities in terms of subsequent development and validation through public health research or clinical research. We recognize that a longer-term evaluation is required in order to determine whether the prototypes will be used regularly, integrated into cervical cancer screening services and effectively improve access to cytology as a screening test.
Key messages
HCD is a useful methodology for design-based prevention in the field of cervical cancer. Integration of HCD with public health practice would allow the generation of evidence prior to the formulation of policies and programs as well as optimize existing interventions.
Cervical cancer prevention and treatment research in Africa: a systematic review from a public health perspective
