Community-based Intervention for Cervical Cancer Screening Uptake in a Semi-urban Area of Pokhara Metropolitan, Nepal: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial (COBIN-C)

Cervical cancer is the major cause of cancer deaths among women in Nepal. Screening is one of the most effective tools for early diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. However, skilled health professionals and tools available for cervical cancer screening are limited in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) including Nepal. The World Health Organization (WHO) and Alliance for Cervical Cancer Prevention (ACCP) recommends that countries, areas, or institutions seeking to initiate or strengthen cervical cancer screening programs should consider introducing or expanding Visual Inspection with Acetic acid (VIA) until more appropriate and affordable HPV-based tests become available. 'National Guideline for Cervical Cancer Screening and Prevention in Nepal, 2010' includes VIA as a screening method for cervical cancer. Current studies reveal Nepalese women's participation in cervical cancer screening is low. Thus, there is a need for appropriate, cost-effective and sustainable interventions to increase VIA screening uptake at the primary health care level across Nepal.

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of a Female Community Health Volunteer (FCHV) led community-based educational intervention through home visits increasing cervical cancer screening uptake. The primary outcome of the study is to increase the cervical cancer-screening uptake in the intervention group. This will be the first community-based cluster-randomized trial designed to mobilize FCHVs for increasing cervical cancer screening uptake in Nepal.