Prevalence of Cervical Cancer and Clinical Management of Women Screened positive using visual inspection with acetic acid and Cervicography in selected public sector health facilities of Manicaland and Midlands provinces of Zimbabwe, 2021

Sep 24, 2026

Study focused on VIAC-based cervical cancer screening outcomes and follow-up care for clients who tested positive in Zimbabwe’s Manicaland and Midlands provinces during October 2020–September 2021. Using a retrospective cross-sectional design with routine VIAC and cervical cancer management data, the analysis covered women selected from screening registers and VIAC-positive records. VIAC positivity differed by HIV status and visit type, while 89.1% of VIAC-positive women received treatment. Most treated clients underwent thermocoagulation, treatment timing largely met day-of and 30-day targets, yet six-month post-treatment coverage remained low.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Introduction

PLOS ONE OPEN ACCESS Citation: Tachiwenyika E, Dhodho M, Muchedzi A, Sibanda TP, Mupanguri C, Mukungunugwa S, et al.(2023) Prevalence of Cervical Cancer and Clinical Management of Women Screened positive using visual inspection with acetic acid and Cervicography in selected public sector health facilities of Manicaland and Midlands provinces of Zimbabwe, 2021. PLoS ONE 18(11): e0294115 . [https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294115](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294115) [Editor:](Editor: Tinei Shamu)[ Tinei Shamu](Editor: Tinei Shamu), Newlands Clinic, ZIMBABWE Received: April 6, 2023 Accepted: October 25, 2023 Published: November 29, 2023 Copyright: © 2023 Tachiwenyika et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files. Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. RESEARCH ARTICLE Prevalence of Cervical Cancer and Clinical Management of Women Screened positive using visual inspection with acetic acid and Cervicography in selected public sector health facilities of Manicaland and Midlands provinces of Zimbabwe, 2021 Emmanuel Tachiwenyika1 *, Munyaradzi Dhodho1, Auxilia Muchedzi1, Tafadzwa P. Sibanda1, Chiedza Mupanguri2, Solomon Mukungunugwa3, Mutsa Mhangara3, Ngonidzashe Ganje1, Talent Tapera1, Tendai Samushonga1, Morgen Muzondo1, Sithabiso Dube1, TaurayiTafuma1, Byrone Chingombe1, Admire Maravanyika1, Tichaona Nyamundaya1 1 Technical Department, Zimbabwe Health Interventions, Harare, Zimbabwe, 2 AIDS and TB Programs, Ministry of Health and Child Care, Harare, Zimbabwe, 3 United States Agency for International Development, Harare, Zimbabwe * [etachiwenyika@zhi.co.zw](etachiwenyika@zhi.co.zw) Abstract Background Zimbabwe has high cervical cancer (CC) burden of 19% and mortality rate of 64% . Zimbabwe uses Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid and Cervicography (VIAC) for CC screening. Manicaland and Midlands provinces recorded low VIAC positivity of 3%(target 5–25%) and treatment coverage of 78%(target = 90%) between October 2020 and September 2021. Objectives We explored VIAC positivity rate and clinical management of clients screening positive in Manicaland and Midlands provinces. Methods We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study using routine VIAC and CC management data for period October 2020 to September 2021. Two samples were used, 1) a sample drawn from 48,000 women VIAC screened to measure positivity rate, and 2) a sample of 1,763 VIAC positive women to assess clinical management. Kobo-based tool was used to abstract data from facility registers, and data were analyzed using STATA 15. Results We analyzed data for 2,454 out of 48,000 women screened through VIAC. About 82%(2,007/2,454) were HIV positive, median ages were 40 and 38 years for HIV positives and negatives respectively. Most (64% and 77%) of HIV positive and negative clients respectively were married. VIAC positivity was 5.9% and 3.4% among HIV positive and negative women screened for the first time, and 3.2% and 5.6% for repeat visits respectively. Overall, 89. 1%(1,571/1,763) of VIAC positive women received treatment. Most (41%) of those treated received thermocoagulation. Overall, 43. 1% of clients received treatment on VIAC day, and 77.4% within 30 days. Six-month post-treatment coverage was 3.8% . Conclusion VIAC positivity among HIV positive women screening for the first time was 5 .9%, within the expected 5–25% . Treatment coverage was high, and turnaround time from diagnosis to treatment met national standards. Post-treatment coverage was suboptimal. We recommend continued implementatio

FAQs

What screening approach does the study examine in Zimbabwe?

The study examines Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid and Cervicography (VIAC) for cervical cancer screening in selected public sector facilities.

How was the study conducted and which time period was analyzed?

A retrospective cross-sectional study used routine VIAC and cervical cancer management data for October 2020 to September 2021.

What proportion of VIAC-positive women received treatment?

Overall, 89.1% of VIAC-positive women received treatment after screening positive.

Sep 24, 2026

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