Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) & Pap smear positivity rates according to socio demographic factors amongst rural married women

Background: Cervical cytology which is a standard screening tool in developed countries fails as a screening method in low-resource countries due to financial and technical constraints. Objective: To determine the prevalence of pre-malignant lesions of the cervix by VIA and Pap smear test among rural married women and to find out association of socio demographic factors with positive screening test results. Material & Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was carried out among rural married women in the field practice area. A pre-designed questionnaire was administered to collect information from 550 women. Results: The VIA and Pap smear tests were positive among 5.5% and 3.6%study subjects respectively. Pap smear test result presented with pre-cancerous lesions such as atypical squamous cell of undifferentiated significance (ASCUS)16 (2.90%), low grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) 2 (0.36%) and high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) 2 (0.36%). The VIA & Pap smear positivity rate was found to be more in the age group of ≥40 years, Hindu, education above intermediate class, joint family and, upper & lower socio-economic status respectively. Conclusion: The prevalence of pre-malignant lesions of the cervix by VIA test was 5.5 % while 3.6% pre-malignant lesion was detected by Pap smear method