Interventions to increase the uptake of cervical cancer screening in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundTo identify effective interventions to increase the uptake of cervical cancer screening (CCS) for low-and middle-income countries (LMICs).MethodsWe searched PubMed, CENTRAL, ISI Web of Sciences, Scopus, OVID (Medline), CINAHL, LILACS, CNKI and OpenGrey for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cluster RCTs conducted in LMICs from January 2000 to September 2021. Two reviewers independently screened studies, extracted data, assessed risk of bias and certainty of evidence. Meta-analyses with random-effects models were conducted for data synthesis.ResultsWe included 38 reports of 24 studies involving 318,423 participants from 15 RCTs and nine cluster RCTs. Single interventions may increase uptake of CCS when compared with control (RR 1.47, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.82). Self-sampling of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) testing may increase uptake of CCS relative to routine Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (RR 1.93, 95% CI 1.66 to 2.25). Reminding with phone call may increase uptake of CCS than letter (RR 1.72, 95% CI 1.27 to 2.32) and SMS (RR 1.59, 95% CI 1.19 to 2.13). Sending 15 health messages may increase uptake of CCS relative to one SMS (RR 2.75, 95% CI 1.46 to 5.19). Free subsidized cost may increase uptake of CCS slightly than $0.66 subsidized cost (RR 1.60, 95% CI 1.10 to 2.33). Community based HPV test may increase uptake of CCS slightly in compared to hospital collected HPV (RR 1.67, 95% CI 1.53 to 1.82). The evidence is very uncertain about the effect of combined interventions on CCS uptake relative to single intervention (RR 2.20, 95% CI 1.54 to 3.14).ConclusionsSingle interventions including reminding with phone call, SMS, community self-sampling of HPV test, and free subsidized services may enhance CCS uptake. Combined interventions, including health education interventions and SMS plus e-voucher, may be better than single intervention. Due to low-certainty evidences, these findings should be applied cautiously.

Automated summary

To increase the uptake of cervical cancer screening in low- and middle-income countries, researchers conducted a comprehensive analysis of 24 studies. The results suggest that single interventions such as phone call reminders, SMS reminders, community self-sampling, and free subsidized services can improve screening uptake. Combined interventions, such as health education interventions and SMS plus e-voucher, may have better effects than single interventions. These findings should be cautiously applied due to low certainty of evidence.