Implementation strategies of cervical cancer screening in South Asia: A systematic review

Cervical cancer is a preventable cancer by screening, vaccination and timely management of preinvasive cervical lesions. However, about 90% of the global burden of cervical cancer is reported from developing countries.

This systematic review aimed to analyze the strategies implemented for cervical cancer screening in South Asia.

An electronic search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus and Google Scholar was carried out for articles published in English, evaluating the implementation of cervical cancer screening between December 2000 and June 2023 in South Asia using appropriate search terms.

Cross-sectional studies, randomized control trials (RCTs) or non-randomized controlled trials evaluating different cervical screening strategies were included.

A three-stage selection process was performed using a validated proforma including the title, author, year of publication, objective, country, study design, screening methods, strategies and outcomes, and results. The systematic review was designed based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The risk of bias was evaluated with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's (NHLBI) Quality Assessment Tools.

Out of the initial 1135 articles reviewed systematically, 23 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the qualitative synthesis of results. The implementation outcomes measured were acceptability (n = 23 100%), feasibility (n = 22, 95.7%), fidelity (n = 14, 60.9%), sustainability (n = 7, 30.4%), coverage (n = 4, 17.4%) and cost (n = 1, 4.3%).

Cervical cancer screening can be effectively implemented by restructuring the ongoing programs.