Cervical Cancer Screening Using Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid(Via): A Viable Intervention in A Resource Poor Setting in Benue State,North Central Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Cervical cancer is an enormous public health burden world-wide particularly in LMICs. The aim of
this study is to assess the acceptability and outcome of VIA screening for cervical cancer among women at a rural
health facility in North Central Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This was a community-based cross-sectional
descriptive study that was conducted among 162 consecutively consenting women between the age of 20-65 years
at a medical outreach in a rural community of Mkar in conjunction with NKST Hospital Mkar, Gboko Local
Government Area, Benue State-Nigeria in June 2021. VIA was performed on each of the study participants who
fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Women with a positive VIAresults were offered thermal ablation. Data was collected
using a structured questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS version 25. The results were presented in charts and tables.
Results: Amongst the 162 women participants, 12 (7.4%) were screened positive while 150 (92.6%) were screened
negative for premalignant lesions of the cervix with VIA. There was a significant association between Parity (X2 =
11.97, P-value = 0.003), a history of symptoms (dyspareunia and foul-smelling discharge) (X2 = 28.003, P-value =
0.001) and the outcome of the VIA test. Conclusion: This study has demonstrated the usefulness of VIA as a
screening tool for secondary prevention of cervical cancer in LMICs and recommends the integration of VIA-based
screening programs at the primary health care level to reduce the burden of cervical cancer in LIMCs.