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Purpose: Cervical cancer screening has been successful in reducing the rates of cervical cancer in developed countries, but this disease remains the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in sub-Saharan Africa. We sought to understand factors associated with limited uptake of screening services in our cervical cancer-screening program in Western Kenya. Participants and Methods: Using items from a previously validated cancer awareness questionnaire repurposed for use in cervical cancer and culturally adapted for use in Kenya, we interviewed 2,505 women aged 18–55 years receiving care in gynecology clinics or seeking other services in 4 health facilities in Western Kenya between April 2014 and September 2014. We used logistic regression modeling to assess factors associated with uptake (or non-uptake), associated odds ratios (ORs) and the 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results: Only two hundred and seventy-three women out of 2505 (11%) accepted VIA cervical cancer screening. Knowledge of just how women are screened for cervical cancer was significantly associated with reduced uptake of cervical cancer screening (OR: 0.53; CI 0.38–0.73) as was fear that screening would reveal a cancer (OR 0.70; CI 0.63–0.77), and reliance on prayer with the onset of illness (OR 0.43; CI 0.26–0.71). Participants who thought that one should get cervical cancer screening even if there were no symptoms were more than twice as likely to accept cervical cancer screening (OR 2.21; 95% CI 1.24–3.93). Older patients, patients living with HIV and women who do not know if bleeding immediately after sex might be a sign of cervical cancer were also more likely to accept screening (OR 1.03, CI 1.02–1.04; OR 1.78, CI 1.01–3.14; OR 2.39, CI 1.31–4.39, respectively). Conclusions: In our population, a high percent of women knew that it is appropriate for all women to get cervical cancer screening, but only a small proportion of women actually got screening. There may be an opportunity to design educational materials for this population that will not only encourage participation in cervical cancer screening but also remediate misconceptions. The discussion illustrates how our findings could be used in such an effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2014, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) called for 90% of persons living with HIV (PLHIV) to know their status, 90% of these to be on antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 90% of these to be virally suppressed by 2020 (90-90-90). It is not clear whether planned ART scale-up in countries whose eligibility criteria for ART initiation are based on recommendations from the 2013 World Health Organization treatment guidelines will be sufficient to meet UNAIDS' new global targets. Materials and Methods: Using data from a nationally representative population-based household survey of persons in Kenya we compared coverage and unmet need associated with HIV diagnosis, ART, and viral suppression among PLHIV aged 15–64 years in 2012 based on criteria outlined in the 2014 national ART guidelines and UNAIDS’ 90-90-90 goals. Estimates were weighted to account for sampling probability and nonresponse. Results: Eight in ten PLHIV aged 15–64 years needed ART based on treatment eligibility. Need for treatment based on the national treatment policy was 97.4% of treatment need based on UNAIDS’ 90-90-90 goals, requiring an excess of 24,000 PLHIV to access treatment beyond those eligible for ART to achieve UNAIDS’ 90-90-90 treatment target. The gap in treatment coverage was high, ranging from 43.1% nationally to 52.3% in Nyanza among treatment-eligible PLHIV and 44.6% nationally to 52.4% in Nyanza among all PLHIV. Conclusion: Maintaining the current pace of ART scale-up in Kenya will result in thousands of PLHIV unreached, many with high viral load and at-risk of transmitting infection to others. Careful strategies for reaching 90-90-90 will be instrumental in determining whether intensified access to treatment can be achieved to reach all who require ART. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]