Table 1.
recommendations for restoring cervical cancer screening services
| Item | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Infection prevention and control (IPC) | Provide adequate personal protective equipment to all healthcare workers. Provide adequate and appropriate space that promotes physical distancing for cervical cancer screening. Educate clients and service providers on the need for wearing masks and maintaining appropriate hand hygiene. Continue prioritising vaccination of all healthcare workers to make sure that they are protected from contracting and severe COVID-19. Once possible, ensure widespread population vaccination to reach the target of at least 67% in the shortest possible period of time. |
| Information, education and communication (IEC) | Provide education regarding the need for continued cervical cancer screening through all different forms of media, including social, print and conventional media in languages appropriate for our population. Incorporate cervical cancer screening messages into COVID-19 prevention messages. Widely distribute IEC material to all possible points of access for the population including schools, shops, water distribution points and churches and other religious organisations. |
| Accessibility | Restore all VIAC services in the areas where people live. Encourage outreach programmes for screening and for HPV vaccination for adolescent girls, and restore national vaccination days for vaccine preventable diseases. Provide treatment for precancerous lesions at peripheral facilities and rural and district hospitals through provision of equipment and retraining of nurses, clinical officers and medical officers. Avoid missing opportunities for screening PLWHA during their medicine resupply visits. |
| Risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) | Critical to dispel rumours, myths and misconceptions regarding COVID-19 acquisition in health facilities. Educate the communities that their risk of contracting COVID-19 in the communities may be even higher than that in facilities with adequate IPC measures and therefore they should not be scared of seeking healthcare services. |
| Healthcare workers' welfare | Adequately address workers' remuneration and insurance concerns. Adequately provide them with appropriate PPE. |
| Training | Retrain/refresh healthcare providers on screening and treatment of precancerous lesions and restore their confidence to fearlessly discharge these services. |
| Surveillance | Put in place monitoring and evaluation frameworks to monitor the impact of the pandemic on cervical cancer screening and treatment to adequately inform public health policy and practice. |