Investigating prevention of cervical cancer, disease burden, and opportunities for improvement in inclusion health women (IHW) (360G-Wellcome-211162_Z_18_Z)

Cervical cancer is preventable due to screening and vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV), the main cause of cervical cancer. However, there were 3,224 new cases and 890 deaths in the UK in 2014. By 2035, this is predicted to rise by 43% due to screening non-attendance. Living in a deprived area increases cervical cancer rates and non-attendance at screening. Inclusion health addresses needs of groups frequently underserved by health services who have worse overall health than people in deprived areas. These include homeless people, migrants, substance misusers, prisoners, and sex workers. It is likely that they engage the least with cervical cancer prevention and have the greatest need for intervention. Unfortunately, they are rarely included in cervical cancer prevention research. This fellowship will fill this knowledge gap. I will measure disease levels, engagement in prevention, and find ways to improve outcomes in inclusion health women. This is needed to eliminate cervical cancer. I will achieve this in three ways: (1) a review of existing studies on inclusion health and cervical cancer (2) a study linking information on 1.6 million migrants to cervical screening and vaccination data and (3) a survey and HPV testing of inclusion health women attending outreach services.