ENHANCE LINKAge

ENHANCE LINKAge starts from a familiar gap in cervical-cancer prevention: screening can identify women at risk, but prevention is not completed until those with positive findings receive the next appropriate assessment and treatment. Among women living with HIV, that continuity is especially important because cervical-cancer risk is higher and the consequences of an unfinished screening pathway can be substantial.

The project studies how cervical-cancer screening and treatment linkage can be integrated into HIV care in Kenya. It combines HPV self-testing, care navigation and a mobile-health platform within an implementation-science framework. The underlying opportunity is the continuity already present in HIV services. Women may have established relationships with clinics and recurring appointments, creating a platform through which cervical prevention can be offered without requiring an entirely separate entry point.

The project does not assume that integration is automatically beneficial. Adding screening can create new tasks, referral requirements and data flows. A positive HPV result may still lead to several handoffs before treatment is completed. ENHANCE LINKAge therefore focuses on the pathway after the test as much as on screening reach. It asks how patients, providers, managers, communities and government actors can help shape a package that is acceptable, feasible and sustainable. The wider goal is to turn HIV care into a stronger platform for cervical-cancer prevention while ensuring that integration reduces fragmentation rather than simply moving it to another part of the system.