About
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Policy & Management
UCLA
Project title: Implementation and clinical effectiveness of cervical cancer prevention in Malawi: A critical evaluation to bring screening and treatment to scale
Mentors:
Roshan Bastani, PhD – UCLA
Judith Currier, MD MSc – UCLA
Dr. Beth Glenn, PhD – UCLA
Multidisciplinary Expertise:
Implementation science, clinical outcomes research, cancer prevention and control
Project Description:
There is a vast and growing burden of non-communicable diseases in low-income countries, but little rigorous research about implementing and scaling-up effective strategies. Breakthroughs in clinical and translational science require accompanying implementation research to understand the real-world “how and why” of uptake and outcomes. Malawi has the highest rates of cervical cancer incidence and attributable mortality in the world; and, as in many low-resource settings, women typically present with advanced disease because they do not have access to cervical cancer screening. This research will use implementation science methods to identify strategies for reducing the excess burden of cervical cancer among women in Malawi. It will apply qualitative, quantitative and modeling methods in new ways to understand the implementation and effectiveness of cancer care delivery in this resource-limited health system. This project will build on a longstanding collaboration between UCLA and a Malawian health care organization, Partners in Hope.