Follow-up rescreening among women living with HIV who tested positive and treated for cervical pre-cancer lesions in South Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Women living with human immune deficiency virus face a heightened risk of cervical cancer. Lack of follow-up rescreening among women with cervical lesions could result in increased risk of cancer related morbidity and mortality. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted among 191 women living with HIV who tested positive for visual inspection with acetic acid and treated from September 2020 to September 2023. A data extraction checklist was used to collect data from October 1, 2023 to March 30, 2024. Descriptive statistics was computed and then logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between the independent variables and follow up rescreening. The association was ascertained using adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Statistical significance was declared at p-value less than 0.05. RESULT: The mean age of the participants was 36.88 (± 7.29) years. Slightly less than one third, (60, 31.4%) of the women came back for follow-up rescreening within three years. Those women who were educated [AOR= 2.2, 95% CI: 1.03-4.68] and treated by Cryotherapy [AOR= 2.4, 95% CI: 1.1-5.4] were more likely to come back for rescreening compared to those who were uneducated and treated by thermal ablation, respectively. CONCLUSION: Follow-up rescreening for cervical pre-cancer remains low. Women's educational status and treatment modality affect the follow-up rescreening. Proper counselling on post treatment follow-up and available screening and treatment options is very crucial to improve adherence to protocol. Qualitative study is warranted to identify the challenges of follow up rescreening.