Cervical Cancer Prevention Patient Navigation

We are currently conducting research in Senegal for the adaptation and implementation of this model into the urban and rural contexts. We are training lay community health workers as initial patient navigators in the community context with efforts to navigate a patient through the entire cancer care continuum. 

The goal of this project is to prevent unnecessary deaths due to cervical cancer in Senegal. This research responds to identified intrapersonal- and community-level barriers to early cervical cancer screening uptake, follow-up, and treatment among rural and urban women there. We are applying the Dynamic Adaptation Process (DAP) to study the adaptation of an evidence-based cervical cancer patient navigation program in Senegal, measure the intervention efficacy, and evaluate programmatic implementation outcomes. With a particular focus on how the adaptation responds to cancer-related women's decision-making autonomy, stigma, and misinformation, in addition to more typically studied barriers such as communication, knowledge, and other structural barriers, our project demonstrates additional innovation. The process knowledge generated will further our long-term goal to inform the national cervical cancer prevention and control programs in Senegal and other LMICs. We are partnering with the University Cheikh Anta Diop and the Ministry of Health and Social Action in Senegal.