mSaada Mobile Health Tool for the Improvement of Cervical Cancer Screening in Western Kenya
This clinical trial evaluates the experiences of community health volunteers (CHVs) with a mobile health tool, mSaada, and to learn about CHVs’ confidence in their ability to complete of all the steps to screen for cervical cancer. While the Kenyan government has identified cervical cancer as a health priority area, access to even simple screening and treatment strategies is limited, and a lack of population awareness about cervical cancer, how screening works and personal perception of risk further reduces uptake. Patient and provider-related barriers can promote attrition throughout the cascade, diminishing the effectiveness of cervical cancer prevention programs. An effective specimen tracking and patient communication system is essential to prevent loss-to-follow-up of women along the cervical cancer prevention cascade. Mobile (m) health (the mSaada application) can be used to bridge the gaps in health care infrastructure and workforce training. mHealth interventions using text messaging have been shown to promote behavior change and increase uptake of services in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). mSaada is an integrated digital platform to support patients, community health volunteers (CHVs), providers and health systems in an human papillomavirus (HPV)-based cervical cancer screening strategy. This study may help researchers learn whether mSaada may improve cervical cancer prevention and HPV testing among in western Kenya.