{"id":6128,"date":"2022-06-22T14:45:45","date_gmt":"2022-06-22T14:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kmtraining.org\/a-life-course-approach-to-reproductive-health\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T12:59:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T12:59:17","slug":"cervical-cancer-prevention-a-life-course-approach-to-srh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kmtraining.org\/fr\/cervical-cancer-prevention-a-life-course-approach-to-srh\/","title":{"rendered":"Cervical Cancer Prevention: A Life-Course Approach to SRH"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Recently, Brittany Goetsch, a Program Officer on the Knowledge SUCCESS project, chatted with TogetHER for Health\u2019s Executive Director, Dr. Heather White, and Population Services International<\/a>\u2019s (PSI\u2019s) Global Medical Director, Dr. Eva Lathrop, on the integration of cervical cancer into broader SRH programming and what cervical cancer can teach us about a life course approach to SRH.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, while in Mozambique recently, Dr. Eva Lathrop spoke with the nurse coordinator for PSI\u2019s PEER Project, Guilhermina Tivir.<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more about cervical cancer and SRH in the companion piece, A Life-Course Approach to Reproductive Health<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

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Introductions<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t
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Brittany Goetsch<\/strong>: Can you tell me a little bit more about your current role and what you do with TogetHER for Health and PSI?<\/p>\n

\"\"Heather White, TogetHER for Health<\/strong>: TogetHER for Health<\/a> is largely an advocacy organization. We work to increase visibility and funding for cervical cancer prevention both globally and in the U.S. TogetHER works across three pillars: 1) we conduct advocacy to global funders like the U.S. government to include funding for global cervical cancer prevention; 2) we work alongside implementing organizations to understand and identify best practices in prevention programs; and 3) we conduct communication campaigns to share the stories of women, families, and communities affected by this disease. Along with women and their families, frontline health care providers are an important population for us to interact and engage with.<\/p>\n

\"\"Eva Lathrop, PSI<\/strong>: In my role as the Global Medical Director, I support all of our programming and technical work in SRH, which includes cervical cancer. Right now, PSI has SRH programs in over 20 countries, and of these, we\u2019re working in 8-9 on cervical cancer prevention and treatment programs using new technologies or existing technologies like visual inspection. Most of our cervical cancer [programs] are integrated into existing clinical services. Historically, we\u2019ve also had work in HPV vaccination campaigns in Trinidad & Tobago.<\/p>\n

Brittany<\/strong>: How did you become interested in this work?<\/p>\n

Eva:<\/strong> I\u2019m an OBGYN by training, so cervical cancer work across the spectrum and across the life course has always been a part of my clinical work and training. Somehow we are still seeing women across the globe including in the United States, dying of cervical cancer. This is such a reachable goal\u2014elimination [of cervical cancer]. The vast majority of cervical cancer cases and deaths can be prevented by many levels of prevention\u2014one of them is the vaccine, and through early screening, and screening at regular intervals. To me, this has always been a frustrating area of interest, but I think we\u2019re getting there globally. I think the only way to do it is through a consortium of partners and by prioritizing this work along with the other SRH work we\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

Heather:<\/strong> I\u2019m a public health practitioner by training. I first learned of cervical cancer as a public health issue in 2006 when PEPFAR<\/a> first initiated funding to integrate cervical screening for women living with HIV for cervical cancer into PEPFAR country programs. As part of my doctoral program, I conducted a small study at local health clinics in Lusaka, Zambia to better understand social and cultural aspects of this disease among Zambian women: were they familiar with this disease; was cervical cancer discussed among women; was screening a priority, and why or not. When women came for screening, I wanted to understand their perceptions and acceptability of the screening process, in order to improve the patient-provider experience. Once I completed my doctoral program, I was hired at PSI as their global technical lead in cervical cancer prevention, and supported the design, implementation, and evaluation of screening and pre-cancer treatment programs across multiple countries across PSI\u2019s global portfolio of SRHR programs.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

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Want to know more?<\/h4>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n
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Listen to Eva and Heather discuss what made them interested in this work.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

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Main Challenges<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t
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Brittany<\/b>: What are some of the main challenges to cervical cancer prevention and treatment that confront the work that PSI and TogetHER for Health are doing? Can you talk a little bit more about why it\u2019s called \u201cpreventable cancer\u201d and how this informs program priorities?<\/p>\n

Heather<\/b>: As Eva alluded to, this is the one cancer that we know enough from a scientific point of view to know what causes it, how to prevent [it], and how to treat it. The vast majority of cervical cancers can be prevented with three complementary interventions: HPV vaccination, ideally between 9\u201314 years of age; cervical screening among adult women; and timely follow-up and treatment for any women with cervical abnormalities. Those three interventions are straightforward, and yet logistically and operationally challenging to put in place around the globe! Nevertheless, that is the challenge ahead of us: to make headway towards global elimination of HPV and cervical cancer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Globally, 9 out of 10 cases of cervical cancer occur in lower- and middle-income countries. This is absolutely a disease of poverty and of inequity. High disease burden is a result of a lack of organized screening programs, and it can be very difficult for women and girls to access these life-saving preventive services in countries with the highest disease burden.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Eva<\/strong>: Barriers to this primary prevention piece include supply chain, cost, and the logistical barriers of having to come back for a second or third vaccine. But it isn\u2019t just that\u2014working outside of the health system and into the education system to try and raise awareness and acceptance of a vaccine that works to prevent a cancer that\u2019s caused by a sexually transmitted virus, and giving the vaccine to kids in elementary school, middle school, and early high school\u2014that\u2019s been a huge challenge socially and culturally across the globe, including and perhaps in particular in the United States. Of all the pieces required to prioritize cervical cancer prevention and make services available, the HPV vaccine part is perhaps the hardest part of those things. When services are available in a health center where a person (such as a woman who is out of school who may already have her family or be in the midst of having her family) is already seeking care for another service, and [the services are] integrated, this is somehow a lower-hanging fruit to build upon and scale than the vaccine pieces. Vaccinating kids is not the most controversial intervention in our global health portfolio, but I would say the HPV vaccine remains controversial.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

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Want to know more?<\/h4>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n
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Listen to Eva and Heather discuss vaccine campaigns and services.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

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Barriers women face to cervical cancer prevention: vaccination, screening, and preventive treatment<\/h4>\n