title: A 5-day educational program for teaching cervical cancer screening using visual inspection with acetic acid in low-resource settings.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the effectiveness of an educational program in visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) for cervical cancer screening among healthcare providers in 2 low-resource countries.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cohort of multidisciplinary healthcare workers in Uganda and El Salvador were recruited to the study. A pretest was administered before the intervention of a 5-day educational program on VIA. A posttest was performed immediately after the educational program and again at a 6-month follow-up visit to assess retention of knowledge.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 42 (93%) of the healthcare workers who participated in the educational program completed the initial posttest evaluation, and 18 (40%) healthcare workers completed the 6-month follow-up evaluation. Mean test scores increased after participation in the training session (62% versus 81%; P<0.001). The self-reported comfort level for identifying cellular abnormalities also increased (2.1 versus 3.3; P<0.001). At 6-month follow-up, the mean test score remained higher than pretest scores (79% versus 57%; P<0.001). There was no significant difference in the initial and 6-month posttest scores (80% versus 79%; P=0.20).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The educational program in VIA provided healthcare workers with the tools potentially to decrease the morbidity and mortality of cervical cancer in the 2 low-resource countries.
authors.affiliation: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA. lisa.obgyndoc@gmail.com
authors.forename: Lisa D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: Scott G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Chudnoff
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baganizi
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Banks
mesh_terms: D019342:Acetic Acid; D003906:Developing Countries; D004521:Educational Measurement; D004544:El Salvador; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D007318:Inservice Training; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000379:methods*; D012424:Rural Population; D014454:Uganda; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D019342:Acetic Acid