Leveraging Project ECHO for Improved Cervical Cancer Screening in Ethiopia

Project TICHILALECH ("she can" in Amharic), a five-year, implementation science study, is focused on improving cervical cancer screening, triage, and treatment and integration with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care at five Ethiopian hospitals, with a focus on human papillomavirus (HPV) self-collection as the recommended screening strategy for people living with HIV (PLHIV). To improve implementation of screening and treatment, Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes), a peer-based, virtual, knowledge sharing model, will be used to convene healthcare providers and stakeholders over a period of approximately three years (2026-2029). A customized curriculum is developed featuring didactic lectures, case-based presentations, and experience sharing for peer-mentoring. A pre/post study design will measure changes in delivery of clinical services, such as the proportion of HPV-positive patients that are appropriately triaged and treated, before and after each hospital's participation in the TICHILALECH ECHO intervention.

Sex

All

Minimum age

18 Years

Inclusion Criteria for Project ECHO and associated surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions:

* 18 years or older
* Willingness and ability to provide informed consent and participate in virtual, peer-mentoring through Project ECHO
* Profession: Healthcare provider, any education/training/cadre with experience relevant to the delivery of cervical cancer screening and treatment or HIV care (e.g., cervical cancer screening, gynecologist, gynecological oncologist, or HIV/ ART provider), or other stakeholder (e.g., personnel at laboratories or health bureaus, administrators, ART data clerks)
* Can communicate in English or Amharic (national language of Ethiopia)
* Able and willing to meaningfully contribute in the virtual, peer-learning community of Project ECHO

Inclusion criteria for end service users (PLHIV) for focus group discussion and routine clinical service delivery data:

* 25 years or older (in accordance with Ethiopia's national cervical cancer screening guidelines for PLHIV)
* Have been diagnosed with HIV
* Have a history of cervical cancer screening that was performed at one of the five study sites, either during the course of our study or previously
* Were screened with primary HPV DNA testing during the course of the study intervention period
* Are eligible for cervical cancer screening in accordance with Ethiopia's national cervical cancer screening guidelines (e.g., have an intact cervix)

Exclusion criteria for end service users (PLHIV) for focus group discussion:

* HIV negative status
* Age under 25 years
* Any physical or mental disability that prevents the individual from consenting to cervical cancer screening and/or study participation
* Patients without an intact cervix (e.g. a history of hysterectomy)
* Anyone ineligible for cervical cancer screening in accordance with Ethiopia's national cervical cancer screening guidelines

Note: Routine clinical service delivery data of PLHIV will be reviewed to determine intervention effect of providers participating in Project ECHO. PLHIV are not considered participants of the trial and are not consented.

• BACKGROUNDEthiopian Federal Ministry of Health. National Guideline for Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control Ethiopia. 2025.
• BACKGROUNDMurray CJ, Vos T, Lozano R, Naghavi M, Flaxman AD, Michaud C, Ezzati M, Shibuya K, Salomon JA, Abdalla S, Aboyans V, Abraham J, Ackerman I, Aggarwal R, Ahn SY, Ali MK, Alvarado M, Anderson HR, Anderson LM, Andrews KG, Atkinson C, Baddour LM, Bahalim AN, Barker-Collo S, Barrero LH, Bartels DH, Basanez MG, Baxter A, Bell ML, Benjamin EJ, Bennett D, Bernabe E, Bhalla K, Bhandari B, Bikbov B, Bin Abdulhak A, Birbeck G, Black JA, Blencowe H, Blore JD, Blyth F, Bolliger I, Bonaventure A, Boufous S, Bourne R, Boussinesq M, Braithwaite T, Brayne C, Bridgett L, Brooker S, Brooks P, Brugha TS, Bryan-Hancock C, Bucello C, Buchbinder R, Buckle G, Budke CM, Burch M, Burney P, Burstein R, Calabria B, Campbell B, Canter CE, Carabin H, Carapetis J, Carmona L, Cella C, Charlson F, Chen H, Cheng AT, Chou D, Chugh SS, Coffeng LE, Colan SD, Colquhoun S, Colson KE, Condon J, Connor MD, Cooper LT, Corriere M, Cortinovis M, de Vaccaro KC, Couser W, Cowie BC, Criqui MH, Cross M, Dabhadkar KC, Dahiya M, Dahodwala N, Damsere-Derry J, Danaei G, Davis A, De Leo D, Degenhardt L, Dellavalle R, Delossantos A, Denenberg J, Derrett S, Des Jarlais DC, Dharmaratne SD, Dherani M, Diaz-Torne C, Dolk H, Dorsey ER, Driscoll T, Duber H, Ebel B, Edmond K, Elbaz A, Ali SE, Erskine H, Erwin PJ, Espindola P, Ewoigbokhan SE, Farzadfar F, Feigin V, Felson DT, Ferrari A, Ferri CP, Fevre EM, Finucane MM, Flaxman S, Flood L, Foreman K, Forouzanfar MH, Fowkes FG, Fransen M, Freeman MK, Gabbe BJ, Gabriel SE, Gakidou E, Ganatra HA, Garcia B, Gaspari F, Gillum RF, Gmel G, Gonzalez-Medina D, Gosselin R, Grainger R, Grant B, Groeger J, Guillemin F, Gunnell D, Gupta R, Haagsma J, Hagan H, Halasa YA, Hall W, Haring D, Haro JM, Harrison JE, Havmoeller R, Hay RJ, Higashi H, Hill C, Hoen B, Hoffman H, Hotez PJ, Hoy D, Huang JJ, Ibeanusi SE, Jacobsen KH, James SL, Jarvis D, Jasrasaria R, Jayaraman S, Johns N, Jonas JB, Karthikeyan G, Kassebaum N, Kawakami N, Keren A, Khoo JP, King CH, Knowlton LM, Kobusingye O, Koranteng A, Krishnamurthi R, Laden F, Lalloo R, Laslett LL, Lathlean T, Leasher JL, Lee YY, Leigh J, Levinson D, Lim SS, Limb E, Lin JK, Lipnick M, Lipshultz SE, Liu W, Loane M, Ohno SL, Lyons R, Mabweijano J, MacIntyre MF, Malekzadeh R, Mallinger L, Manivannan S, Marcenes W, March L, Margolis DJ, Marks GB, Marks R, Matsumori A, Matzopoulos R, Mayosi BM, McAnulty JH, McDermott MM, McGill N, McGrath J, Medina-Mora ME, Meltzer M, Mensah GA, Merriman TR, Meyer AC, Miglioli V, Miller M, Miller TR, Mitchell PB, Mock C, Mocumbi AO, Moffitt TE, Mokdad AA, Monasta L, Montico M, Moradi-Lakeh M, Moran A, Morawska L, Mori R, Murdoch ME, Mwaniki MK, Naidoo K, Nair MN, Naldi L, Narayan KM, Nelson PK, Nelson RG, Nevitt MC, Newton CR, Nolte S, Norman P, Norman R, O'Donnell M, O'Hanlon S, Olives C, Omer SB, Ortblad K, Osborne R, Ozgediz D, Page A, Pahari B, Pandian JD, Rivero AP, Patten SB, Pearce N, Padilla RP, Perez-Ruiz F, Perico N, Pesudovs K, Phillips D, Phillips MR, Pierce K, Pion S, Polanczyk GV, Polinder S, Pope CA 3rd, Popova S, Porrini E, Pourmalek F, Prince M, Pullan RL, Ramaiah KD, Ranganathan D, Razavi H, Regan M, Rehm JT, Rein DB, Remuzzi G, Richardson K, Rivara FP, Roberts T, Robinson C, De Leon FR, Ronfani L, Room R, Rosenfeld LC, Rushton L, Sacco RL, Saha S, Sampson U, Sanchez-Riera L, Sanman E, Schwebel DC, Scott JG, Segui-Gomez M, Shahraz S, Shepard DS, Shin H, Shivakoti R, Singh D, Singh GM, Singh JA, Singleton J, Sleet DA, Sliwa K, Smith E, Smith JL, Stapelberg NJ, Steer A, Steiner T, Stolk WA, Stovner LJ, Sudfeld C, Syed S, Tamburlini G, Tavakkoli M, Taylor HR, Taylor JA, Taylor WJ, Thomas B, Thomson WM, Thurston GD, Tleyjeh IM, Tonelli M, Towbin JA, Truelsen T, Tsilimbaris MK, Ubeda C, Undurraga EA, van der Werf MJ, van Os J, Vavilala MS, Venketasubramanian N, Wang M, Wang W, Watt K, Weatherall DJ, Weinstock MA, Weintraub R, Weisskopf MG, Weissman MM, White RA, Whiteford H, Wiebe N, Wiersma ST, Wilkinson JD, Williams HC, Williams SR, Witt E, Wolfe F, Woolf AD, Wulf S, Yeh PH, Zaidi AK, Zheng ZJ, Zonies D, Lopez AD, AlMazroa MA, Memish ZA. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 291 diseases and injuries in 21 regions, 1990-2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet. 2012 Dec 15;380(9859):2197-223. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61689-4.