Colorectal Cancer Screening Patient Navigation for Patients with Mental Illness and/or Substance Use Disorder: Pilot Randomized Control Trial.

OBJECTIVE: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer death in the US. Screening has decreased CRC mortality. However, disadvantaged patients, particularly those with mental illness or substance use disorder (SUD), are less likely to be screened. The aim of this trial was to evaluate the impact of a patient navigation program on CRC screening in patients with mental illness and/or SUD. METHODS: A pilot randomized nonblinded controlled trial was conducted from January to June 2017 in an urban community health center serving a low-income population. We randomized 251 patients aged 50-74 years with mental illness and/or SUD diagnosis overdue for CRC screening to intervention (n = 126) or usual care (n = 125) stratified by mental illness, SUD, or dual diagnosis. Intervention group patients received a letter followed by a phone call from patient navigators. Navigators helped patients overcome their individual barriers to CRC screening including: education, scheduling, explanation of bowel preparation, lack of transportation or accompaniment to appointments. If patient refused colonoscopy, navigators offered fecal occult blood testing. The main measure was proportion of patients completing CRC screening in intervention and usual care groups. RESULTS: Navigators contacted 85 patients (67%) in the intervention group and 26 declined to participate. In intention-to treat analysis, more patients in the intervention group received CRC screening than in the usual care group, 19% versus 10.4% (p = .04). Among 56 intervention patients who received navigation, 19 completed screening (33.9% versus 10.4% in the control group, p = .001). In the subgroup of patients with SUD, 20% in the intervention group were screened compared to none in the usual care group (p = .05). CONCLUSIONS: A patient navigation program improved CRC screening rates in patients with mental illness and/or SUD. Larger studies in diverse care settings are needed to demonstrate generalizability and explore which modality of CRC screening is most acceptable and which navigator activities are most effective for this vulnerable population. TRIALS REGISTRATION NUMBER: 2016P001322.

The Peru Cervical Cancer Screening Study (PERCAPS): the design and implementation of a mother/daughter screen, treat, and vaccinate program in the Peruvian jungle.

Peru struggles to prevent cervical cancer (CC). In the jungle, prevention programs suffer from significant barriers although technology exists to detect CC precursors. This study used community based participatory research (CBPR) methods to overcome barriers. The objective was to evaluate the utility of CBPR techniques in a mother-child screen/treat and vaccinate program for CC prevention in the Peruvian jungle. The CC prevention program used self-sampling for human papillomavirus (HPV) for screening, cryotherapy for treatment and the HPV vaccine Gardasil for vaccination. Community health leaders (HL) from around Iquitos participated in a two half day educational course. The HLs then decided how to implement interventions in their villages or urban sectors. The success of the program was measured by: (1) ability of the HLs to determine an implementation plan, (2) proper use of research forms, (3) participation and retention rates, and (4) participants' satisfaction. HLs successfully registered 320 women at soup kitchens, schools, and health posts. Screening, treatment, and vaccination were successfully carried out using forms for registration, consent, and results with minimum error. In the screen/treat intervention 100% of participants gave an HPV sample and 99.7% reported high satisfaction; 81% of HPV + women were treated, and 57% returned for 6-month followup. Vaccine intervention: 98% of girls received the 1st vaccine, 88% of those received the 2nd, and 65% the 3rd. CBPR techniques successfully helped implement a screen/treat and vaccinate CC prevention program around Iquitos, Peru. These techniques may be appropriate for large-scale preventive health-care interventions.

The Peru Cervical Cancer Prevention Study (PERCAPS): the technology to make screening accessible.

OBJECTIVE: This study utilized a combination of HPV self-sampling, iFTA elute specimen cards, and long distance transport for centralized processing of specimens to determine the feasibility of large-scale screening in remote and transient populations. METHODS: This study was performed in two locations in Peru (Manchay and Iquitos). The "Just For Me" cervico-vaginal brush and iFTA elute cards were used for the collection and transport of specimens. Samples were shipped via FedEx to China and tested for 14 types of high-risk HPV using PCR based MALDI-TOF. HPV positive women were treated with cryotherapy after VIA triage, and followed-up with colposcopy, biopsy, ECC, and repeat HPV testing at 6 months. RESULTS: Six hundred and forty three women registered, and 632 returned a sample over a 10 day period. Within 2 weeks, specimens were shipped, samples tested, and results received by study staff. Sixty-eight women (10.8%) tested positive, and these results were delivered over 4 days. Fifty-nine HPV positive women (87%) returned for evaluation and treatment, and 2 had large lesions not suitable for cryotherapy. At 6 months, 42 women (74%) returned for follow-up, and 3 had CIN 2 (all positive samples from the endocervical canal). Ninety eight percent of participants reported that they would participate in this type of program again. CONCLUSIONS: Utilizing HPV self-sampling, solid media specimen cards for long distance transport, and centralized high throughput processing, we achieved rapid delivery of results, high satisfaction levels, and low loss to follow-up for cervical cancer screening in remote and transient populations.

The Peru cervical cancer prevention study (PERCAPS): community-based participatory research in Manchay, Peru.

OBJECTIVE: Cervical cancer is a preventable disease which causes significant morbidity and mortality, particularly in developing countries. Although technology for early detection continues to improve, prevention programs suffer from significant barriers. Community-based participatory research is an approach to research which focuses on collaboration with the community to surmount these barriers. The objective of this study was to evaluate the utility of community-based participatory research techniques in a mother-child screen/treat and vaccinate program for cervical cancer prevention in Manchay, Peru. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling and cryotherapy were used for the screen/treat intervention, and the Gardasil vaccine was used for the vaccine intervention. Community health workers from Manchay participated in a 3-day educational course, designed by the research team. The community health workers then decided how to implement the interventions in their community. The success of the program was measured by (1) the ability of the community health workers to determine an implementation plan, (2) the successful use of research forms provided, (3) participation and retention rates, and (4) satisfaction of the participants. RESULTS: (1) The community health workers used a door-to-door approach through which participants were successfully registered and both interventions were successfully carried out; (2) registration forms, consent forms, and result forms were used correctly with minimal error; (3) screen/treat intervention: 97% of registered participants gave an HPV sample, 94% of HPV-positive women were treated, and 90% returned for 6-month follow-up; vaccine intervention: 95% of registered girls received the first vaccine, 97% of those received the second vaccine, and 93% the third; (4) 96% of participants in the screen/treat intervention reported high satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Community-based participatory research techniques successfully helped to implement a screen/treat and vaccinate cervical cancer prevention program in Manchay, Peru. These techniques may help overcome barriers to large-scale preventive health-care interventions.

The relationship between prevalence of active trachoma, water availability and its use in a Tanzanian village.

This study aimed to establish the relationship between the prevalence of active trachoma in children, water availability and household water use in a village in Tanzania. Nine hundred and fourteen children aged 1-9 years were examined for signs of trachoma. Data were collected on time taken to collect water, amount of water collected and other trachoma risk factors. In a sub-study, 99 randomly selected households were visited twice daily on two consecutive days to document patterns of water use. The prevalence of active trachoma in the children examined was 18.4% (95% CI 15.9-20.9). Active trachoma prevalence increased with increasing water collection time (OR 2.25; 95% CI 1.13-4.46) but was unrelated to the amount of water collected. In the sub-study, active trachoma prevalence was substantially lower in children from households where more water was used for personal hygiene (P for trend < or =0.01), independent of the total amount of water used. The allocation of water to hygiene was predicted by lower water collection time. The key element in the relationship between water availability and trachoma is the allocation of water within households. Collection time may influence both the quantity of water collected and its allocation within the household.