Please take a moment to watch videoS about our Cervical cancer screening program and prevention of parent to child transmission of HIV(PPTCT) program
Cervical cancer screening program
Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide, with more than 80% of cases occurring in low-and-middle-income countries. In spite being easily preventable; each year approximately 1.26 lakh women are diagnosed and 65,000 die from the disease. PHRII has been working on detection of precancerous lesions since 2009 with a simple and low-cost method called Visual Inspection by Acetic acid(VIA). We are the pioneers in starting this program in Mysore. Since 2009, PHRII has screened around 5000 women for cervical cancer and performed 67 cancer prevention treatment procedures. We have also included two new components to the screening program to improve the screening with mobile colposcopy and HPV DNA testing since October 2015. We have also developed a public education program to raise awareness about the cost-effectiveness and efficacy of screening to prevent cervical cancer. Both the medical community and the general public are targeted for the educational program.
prevention of parent to child transmission of HIV(PPTCT) program
In 2007, the mobile medical clinic was born through one of PHRII's primary projects, known as Kisalaya. The Kisalaya Program was the culmination of a lifelong dream for Dr. Madhivanan: to integrate HIV testing and Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission of HIV (PPTCT) with antenatal care and counseling in remote rural areas surrounding Mysore city. Kisalaya is a true confluence of health education, patient care, research, and community outreach, and we’re proud to consider it an exemplar of the PHRII philosophy. The project was generously funded by the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, USA.
Our program is centered around three underlying tenets, all aimed at increasing uptake of PPTCT services among Indian woman.
First, we utilized respectful assessment and training of birth attendants and community health workers in HIV-related issues in regions where allopathic medical care during pregnancy is rare
Second, we developed a sturdy and deep engagement with communities in order to raise support for existing antenatal health programs
Third, provided mobile health clinics that give pregnant women a chance to receive antenatal care, HIV testing, PMTCT education, and confidential counseling from a certified professional, all at no cost to the patient
The results have been highly encouraging: PHRII reached out to 114 Anganavadi workers, 98 panchayat leaders, 47 village elders, and 468 self-help group leaders. We conducted 141 education programs across Mysore Taluk, attended by 5,161 community members. On the clinical side, we’ve completed 92 medical camps serving 144 villages, with 1,639 women receiving counseling and HIV testing. Among this cohort, 14 HIV positive women were identified, provided with PMTCT services, and assisted in finding access to further HIV management services.
Although our mobile clinics are delivering high-quality health care, lasting improvements to the health of rural women and children will only be made if community support and awareness foster a demand for better antenatal care and HIV control going forward. While the Kisalaya project was completed, it gave birth to the SCIL: Saving Children Improving Lives initiative, funded generously by a grant from ViiV Healthcare “Positive Action for Children Fund”. Through SCIL, we continued our efforts to reduce vertical transmission of HIV through community mobilization, following the model developed by the Kisalaya program. This project was completed, involving three rounds of medical camps for each village in Mysore Taluk. The SCIL project was followed by SCIL-HR: Saving Children Improving Lives- High Risk, in which we reached out to the rural populations at highest risk of vertical transmission of HIV.
WATCH AWARD WINNING VIDEO ON OUR PPTCT PROGRAM BELOW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUuyAKoB3co