Implementation of a community-based cervical cancer screening program using visual inspection with acetic acid and Lugol’s iodine in Kutch District, India.

e12009 Background: Visual inspection with acetic acid and Lugol’s iodine (VIA/VILI) is increasingly reframed as a bridge modality through which low resource countries can provide cervical cancer screening while waiting for the more effective HPV DNA tests to become affordable. Often the screening programs are organized by government bodies that lack the trust of the local communities and hence such programs suffer from poor participation. Here we aim to describe a locally-sustained VIA/VILI screening program in rural Kutch district in India directed by Kutch Mahlia Vikas Sangathan (KMVS), a local NGO committed to women empowerment. Methods: All capacity-building measures (funding, training, materials, and healthcare workers) were rooted in the local community. Heath workers were sent to Tata Memorial Cancer Center in Mumbai for training. NGO members held information sessions prior the screening camps educating women about the significance of screening. A three-visit screening model using VIA/VILI was implemented. At first visit, all women were consented and screened. VIA/VILI positive women returned for a second visit for biospy. Biopsy positive women then returned for a third visit to arrange for treatment. All the screening camps were conducted in community buildings such as schools with the collaboration of the village leaders. Results: Screening camps were set up in 17 villages in 2010-2011, screening a total of 832 married women upto the age of 50. There were 0 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) positive lesions or invasive cancers found. None of the women were lost to follow-up. Conclusions: It is feasible to develop a community level screening program and to provide cancer prevention needs from within a community. Future directions include further evaluation of downstream protocols after VIA/VILI tests, increasing health worker diagnostic and treatment capacity, and determining positive recruitment factors in women attending screening camps. The KMVS screening program has been well-received and has been approached by several other NGO’s and training centers seeking to build similar community-based cervical cancer screening programs.