Strategies for implementing organized cervical cancer screening in the public health system of São Paulo state, Brazil

• Grant number: 23/07997-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: December 01, 2023
• End date: November 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Epidemiology
• Principal Investigator: Victor Wünsch Filho
• Grantee: Carolina Terra de Moraes Luizaga
• Supervisor: André Lopes Carvalho
• Host Institution: Fundação Oncocentro de São Paulo (FOSP). Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), France
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/09419-3 - Transitioning from opportunistic to organized Cancer screening programs: the experience of the State of São Paulo, BP.PD

Abstract

Approximately 82% of the total number of deaths reported annually from cervical cancer (CC) occur in low- middle- and upper- middle- income countries. In Brazil, recent mortality rates from CC indicated a stabilized trend after more than two decades of declines. São Paulo is the first Brazilian state to show a reversal trend in CC mortality, especially in women aged 25-39 years. These recent changes and sub-optimal performance showed by screening indicators point to the need for reorganization of the current opportunistic screening program and for investments in more efficient evidence-based strategies. Linked to the proposal by Wünsch-Filho that aims to structure organized, scalable, population-based screening program for cervical and breast cancer in São Paulo, this research proposal aims to assess the level of knowledge, adherence to good practices and existing barriers in relation to cervical cancer screening among women in the state of São Paulo and to investigate the use of the Intervention Scalability Assessment Tool as a means of planning and implementing a gradual scale-up of an organized cervical cancer screening, as well as studying the program's sustainability in the state of São Paulo. Outcomes are expected in line of evidence gathered to identify some of the social and service providers barriers to successful implementation of cancer screening programs that target users of public health systems in Brazil as well as in others similar countries. Additionally, the use of the selected tool will carry out systematic evaluations of proposed interventions to scaling-up screening programs and consequently, to respond to budgetary constraints in the public health system. (AU)