An Integrated Approach to Cervical Cancer Prevention Based on WHO’s 90-70-90 Targets: A Rural Community-Based Study

BackgroundCervical cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in women, mainly affecting women in lowand middle-income countries.The present study aimed to raise awareness about cervical cancer among rural populations in Haryana, India, and provide cervical cancer screening for women and vaccination for girls and young women. MethodologyThis community-based cross-sectional study included three distinct study populations targeted for different interventions, i.e., cervical cancer awareness, cervical cancer screening, and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination initiatives.Awareness was delivered through community health camps, interactive sessions, street plays (nukkad natak), and the distribution of pamphlets.Cervical cancer screening was conducted through HPV DNA detection using multiplex PCR.Furthermore, eligible girls and young women were provided with the CERVAVAC HPV vaccine (Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd., Pune, India). ResultsAwareness campaigns were conducted among the rural population of Haryana to provide knowledge about cervical cancer and its prevention.A total of 1,180 women aged over 18 years who attended the awareness campaigns (n = 1,000) and cervical cancer screening (n = 700) were briefly interviewed.Of these, 13.8% had heard of cervical cancer, 9.2% had poor knowledge about it, and 9% knew that the disease could be prevented.The HPV DNA positivity rate was 8.4% (59/700), with high-risk HPV genotypes (other than HPV-16 and HPV-18) being the most commonly detected, followed by HPV-18 (20%) and HPV-16 (10%), while 7% were co-infected with HPV-16 and HPV-18.A total of 102 individuals, comprising 17 (16.7%)girls aged 9-14 years and 85 (83.3%) girls/women aged 15-26 years, received HPV vaccination.Vaccine hesitancy was observed among the eligible population, with misinformation on social media cited as one of the reasons. ConclusionOur findings underscore the need for community-based cervical cancer awareness campaigns, strengthening health education from the school level, and providing access to HPV screening and vaccination facilities to improve cervical cancer prevention in rural settings.