Karla Alfaro (El Salvador)

Basic Health International Medical Director

Presenter of 1 Presentation

 Conference Calendar
Public Health / Epidemiology / Screening for HPV-related Disease: Implementation, Evaluation and Impact ePoster

TRAINING OF HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A NATIONAL CERVICAL CANCER PREVENTION PROGRAM IN EL SALVADOR (ID 1033)

Session Date
07/21/2020
Session Time
10:00 - 17:00
Room
ePoster
Session Type
Poster Viewing - 20-24 July
Session Name
Public Health / Epidemiology / Screening for HPV-related Disease: Implementation, Evaluation and Impact
Lecture Time
10:01 - 10:02
Presenter
Authors

Abstract

Introduction

Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for women in El Salvador. In 2012, human papillomavirus (HPV) testing was introduced to the country as part of Cervical Cancer Prevention in El Salvador (CAPE), a primary HPV-based screen-and-treat demonstration project. The success of CAPE led to its adoption by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and a subsequent national scale-up that is currently underway. Each step required rapid training of healthcare workers across the country. The CAPE training model can serve as a blueprint for other cervical cancer prevention programs in low and middle countries (LMICs).

Methods

The training model divided healthcare providers into three categories based on the MOH’s existing workforce (physicians, nurses, and community health promoters). The model included preparation of educational materials, training of healthcare workers, and monitoring of program implementation. Results from the regional expansion of CAPE and preliminary findings from the national scale-up are presented here.

Results

Training curricula were developed by Basic Health International (BHI) and the MOH with technical support provided by international agencies and experts. Specific materials were designed for each of the three categories of healthcare workers. Training took place over 3 months in the Paracentral region of the country. During this stage, CAPE trained 223 doctors, 360 nurses, and 610 health promoters. The regional expansion screened and treated 17,795 women over 24 months. The national scale-up has subsequently trained an additional 608 doctors, 920 nurses, and 1,534 health promoters in 3 months, while 30,000/100,000 projected women have been screened.

Conclusions

CAPE successfully trained public healthcare workers to implement a population- based cervical cancer screening program in a LMIC. Some of these workers are now capable of providing trainings to new members of the local workforce. The CAPE training model is a sustainable strategy to strengthen in-country capacity.

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Moderator of 1 Session

 Conference Calendar
Public Health Oral Session

00720 - Oral Session 6: SCREENING III. Implementation, dissemination, and communication  (ID 28)

Session Type
Public Health Oral Session
Session Date
07/22/2020
Session Time
11:35 - 13:15
Room
Hall E
Chair(s)

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