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Published on: June 6, 2020
Estimates for cervical abnormalities in Vanuatu
Nina Fotinatos1, Adrian Warmington, Todd Walker
1School of Biomedical Science, Charles Sturt University, New South Wales, Australia. lacn@aapt.net.au
Objective:
To use the Pap smear to establish a recent prevalence of cervical abnormalities within a select population in Vanuatu, a developing country.
Methods:
Cervical smears (n=907) were collected from Ni-Vanuatu women from both urban and rural islands within Vanuatu between August 2001 and September 2005.
Results:
The prevalence of low-grade epithelial abnormalities for the total population was 2.9% and the prevalence of the high-grade epithelial abnormalities/cancer was 2.0%. There was a significant difference (p<0.05) in prevalence of high-grade epithelial abnormalities/cancer between the urban and rural populations sampled, with a higher prevalence in the urban population.
Conclusions:
The prevalence of pre-cancer and cancer in Vanuatu is high compared with Victorian (Australian) statistics yet comparable with other developing countries with no cervical screening programs available.
Implications:
This study will hopefully assist in future planning of women's health programs and relevant preventive strategies to combat cervical cancer in Vanuatu.
