Number of health workers trained in cervical cancer screening Number of health workers trained in cervical cancer screening Definition: The number of health workers (e.g. clinical assistants, doctors, nurses) trained in cervical cancer screening (cytology, HPV DNA, and visual methods) in a given timeframe. This indicator is calculated as: Total number of health workers who have completed a training in cervical cancer screening during a specified timeframe. Data Requirement(s): Number of people trained (based on an actual list of names for potential verification purposes), disaggregated by sex, cadre of health worker, and location (e.g. assigned to which health facility). If targeting and/or linking to inequity, classify trainees by areas served (poor/not poor) and disaggregate by area served. Data Source(s): Training reports; program records Purpose: Countries wishing to implement new, or strengthen existing, cervical cancer prevention programs must build local capacity to do so. By necessity, these countries generally rely on in-service training of existing providers, which is the most efficient way to relatively quickly generate sufficient numbers of competent providers (ACCP, 2004). This indicator presents one measure of how robust a country’s cervical cancer prevention program is by tracking the number of providers who have been trained in the necessary skills to screen women for cervical cancer and possibly even treat eligible test-positive women as required. To estimate the number of providers that should be trained to meet program goals, the Alliance for Cervical Cancer Prevention’s (ACCP) Planning and Implementing Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control Programs Manual for Managers (2004: p. 154) provides an example for calculating need. Issue(s): Counting “number trained” alone does not capture knowledge. It is an important process indicator, but to assess output and providers’ ability to deliver safe, high-quality reproductive health services, this indicator should be complimented with an indicator that assesses competency or mastery of knowledge and/or skills. An example would be, “Number of health workers trained in cervical cancer screening who have mastered relevant knowledge.” Keywords: training, sexually transmitted infection (STI), cervical cancer References: Alliance for Cervical Cancer Prevention (ACCP). Planning and Implementing Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control Programs: A Manual for Managers. Seattle: ACCP; 2004. http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/cancers/a92126/en/ Related content Training in Service Delivery Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV/AIDS Filed under: cervical cancer, Family Planning, FP, FP/RH, Indicators, Reproductive Health, RH, sti, training
