TY - JOUR
T1 - Cervical screening in Solomon Islands
T2 - challenges and opportunities for a national screening programme
AU - Botfield, Jessica R.
AU - McGowan, Catherine
AU - Gagahe, Verlyn
AU - Tashkeel, Faeha
AU - Stuart, Anne
N1 - Funding Information:
This cervical screening and treatment pilot programme offers an example of a lower-middle income country identifying a national health concern, seeking technical assistance and committing to a solution. Although several important challenges were identified during the pilot programme that must be considered for ongoing implementation, a national cervical screening and treatment programme is viable in Solomon Islands with a trained and skilled nursing and midwifery workforce, sufficient supply of equipment and resources, strong referral pathways, and a robust data collection and monitoring framework, preferably driven by the local health and research workforce (Redman-MacLaren et al. ). Following completion of the pilot programme in late 2018, eliminating cervical cancer in Solomon Islands remains a government priority. In May 2019 a stakeholder workshop was held in Honiara where the Solomon Islands MHMS and other key stakeholders discussed the way forward for a national cervical screening programme and reiterated their commitment to scaling up the programme, ensuring it was within their health priorities and part of the MHMS recurrent budget. The programme is supported by existing health policies, in particular the Solomon Islands National Health Strategic Plan, which includes “improving service coverage” and “improving the quality and support of health services” as key result areas (Ministry of Health and Medical Services ). From a regional perspective, it also aligns with the regional priority to reduce deaths from cervical cancer in the Pacific (Pacific Civil Society Organisations ; Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat ). This level of alignment and integration with national and regional policies and priorities will enable the Solomon Islands Government to take ownership of the scale up, which will ensure the programme is locally owned and led.
Funding Information:
Many thanks to Dr Yan (Wendy) Cheng, Tahlia Theodorou, and Cathy Bernasconi for assisting with data cleaning and analysis, and to Clinical Associate Professor Deborah Bateson, RN Kelly Land, and Nate Henderson for their review and feedback. Thank you to the team at the Solomon Islands Ministry of Health and Medical Services for their dedicated efforts to the pilot cervical screening programme. We are also grateful for the support of the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program. We wish to dedicate this article to Verlyn Gagahe for her work on the pilot programme and her commitment and passion for the women in Solomon Islands.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Family Planning NSW.
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/8/18
Y1 - 2021/8/18
N2 - Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in Solomon Islands; no national cervical screening programme currently exists. In 2015 the Solomon Islands Government invited Family Planning Australia to support implementation of a pilot screening programme. Over 4,000 women were screened. Nurses and stakeholders interviewed felt the pilot was in line with the country’s needs. Challenges related to access, timely treatment, and human resources. The pilot provides an example of a lower-middle income country identifying a national health concern, seeking technical assistance, and committing to implementation. Findings indicate a screening programme is feasible, drawing on the nursing/midwifery workforce, with government commitment.
AB - Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in Solomon Islands; no national cervical screening programme currently exists. In 2015 the Solomon Islands Government invited Family Planning Australia to support implementation of a pilot screening programme. Over 4,000 women were screened. Nurses and stakeholders interviewed felt the pilot was in line with the country’s needs. Challenges related to access, timely treatment, and human resources. The pilot provides an example of a lower-middle income country identifying a national health concern, seeking technical assistance, and committing to implementation. Findings indicate a screening programme is feasible, drawing on the nursing/midwifery workforce, with government commitment.
KW - Cervical cancer prevention
KW - cervical screening
KW - government
KW - partnerships
KW - pilot programme
KW - Solomon Islands
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85106237996&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/09614524.2021.1907541
DO - 10.1080/09614524.2021.1907541
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85106237996
SN - 0961-4524
VL - 31
SP - 751
EP - 763
JO - Development in Practice
JF - Development in Practice
IS - 6
ER -
