The women in Moldova will be identified and notified automatically of the necessity of cervical cancer screening through an automated information system called “Cervical Screening Register”. The register will enable to follow each case in an organized way and will help identify precancerous conditions or cancer in patients. The eligible women aged between 25 and 61 will get the necessary treatment within the preset terms, said gynecologist Diana Văluță, head of the Cervical Screening Implementation Coordination Union of the Mother and Child Institute.
In the event to present the results of the virtual marathon “Maintain health. Do a smear test!”, the doctor said the register is based on the information system of the primary medical assistance service in which the whole population is introduced according to family doctors’ lists. Each eligible woman will be informed through a phone call or an SMS or through social networking sites. In the discussion with the family doctor, the patient will announce her decision about the method of being invited to cervical screening. The test will be done once in three years, when the person tests negative. If the result is positive, the woman will be invited once in six months or more often.
“We started to implement the program and train family doctors how to use this instrument. We managed to cover the doctors of the primary medical assistance service in Chisinau and continue at the local level. When we familiarize all the medical institutions with this instrument, the mechanism will become functional for our women. We set the goal of implementing the mechanism during half a year to 12 months,” explained Diana Văluță.
Natalia Plugaru, UNFPA Moldova Assistant Representative, underlined the importance of preventing cervical cancer and of encouraging women to do a smear test for prophylactic purposes. Through the agency of the virtual marathon “Maintain health. Do a smear test!” that was recently conducted in Moldova, a call was made to women to do this test and to inform themselves from reliable sources.
The representative of UNFPA Moldova noted the women feat the Pap test results, but they need to do this screening primarily because the precancerous conditions can be treated. “We will continue to invest in the health system as it is important to maintain the quality of the service. We will invest in equipment, in the quality of sample taking, in the specialization of doctors, in the data collection system and in monitoring,” she stated.
Natalia Plugaru also said that through the agency of the partners and the media, the information campaign will continue, primarily in rural areas. “This campaign showed that the women in rural areas either do not have access to information sources or they live in areas that are located further from medical units. They are the most vulnerable ones in this regard. It is important to reach these women with information and the necessary message so that they do the cytology test and prevent cervical cancer,” noted the UNFPA Moldova Assistant Representative.
About 600-700 women are annually diagnosed with precancerous conditions in Moldova, while 300–350 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer.
