Evaluating the Patient Experience of Women Receiving Mobile Health App Facilitated HPV-Based Cervical Cancer Screening

Abstract

Cervical cancer is a disease that disproportionately burdens countries with less developed healthcare infrastructures where the populations have less access to healthcare resources. Screening for cervical cancer is essential to disease prevention and to getting patients proper and effective treatment. HPV testing via self-collection as a form of cervical cancer screening has been shown to be an effective method of preventing the development of cervical cancer and amenable to use in resource-limited settings. In western Kenya, an mHealth strategy called mSaada has been piloted to support the HPV-based cervical cancer screening cascade. mSaada is placed in the hands of community health volunteers (CHVs) who lead the screening process and aims to address provider and patient barriers to screening delivery. This thesis study aimed to investigate how the use of mSaada by CHVs affects the patient experience of women screened by during the HPV-based cervical cancer screening process. This cross-sectional study assessed the experience of 120 patients through the Patient Experience Questionnaire. Participants were evaluated for their perception of CHV knowledge and ability, their own comfort level and understanding, their attitude towards the screening process, and how mSaada affected these perceptions. There were overall high endorsements towards almost every aspect of the screening experience, indicating acceptance of the screening process and comfort in interacting with the CHV. However, a small percentage of respondents were less comfortable with how mSaada affected their comfort level. This study emphasized the importance of taking into account the patient experience when implementing a new digital health strategy and suggests that future use of mSaada can reevaluate CHV training methods and place a greater emphasis on communication and how to best disseminate information.