HPV, the cause of cervical cancer, is the most common viral STD in the world, with about 20 million individuals infected and 5.5 million new infections each year. The most critical policy questions related to cervical cancer control differ drastically between developed and developing countries, especially with the recent introduction of a highly efficacious type-specific HPV vaccine targeting the two types of HPV associated with the highest risk for cervical cancer. An overarching global public health theme, and one particularly relevant in resource-poor countries, is how to ensure investment of adequate resources to cost-effectively launch the type-specific HPV vaccines on the horizon.
Our specific research agenda varies to match the particular income-level of countries under investigation:
-
undefined undefined undefined undefinedIn upper-income countries with existing cytology screening programs, important public health questions we are investigating relate to how to integrate new technologies into the existing program efficiently and how to reduce the disparities in uninsured women, immigrants, and ethnic minorities.
-
undefined undefinedIn countries classified as low-income, our research agenda includes how to implement a sustainable screening program using any available technology in the setting of competing health priorities and limited resources.
-
In countries classified as middle-income, our focus involves research on how to improve the quality of cytological screening programs and how to target more accurately previously unscreened women over the age of 30, those at highest risk for cervical cancer.
Funders of cervical cancer work conducted by Center for Health Decision Science researchers include such agencies as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Cancer Institute, as well as non-governmental groups such as The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Doris Duke Foundation, and the American Cancer Society. This work is conducted at 718 Huntington Avenue as well as with collaborators at Engender Health, PATH, PAHO, IARC, ICO and the WHO and investigators include Drs. J Kim, Goldie, Stout and Salomon, and doctoral student Campos.