The International Journal of STD & AIDS has published a paper on research done at the free HIV clinic at Partners in Hope Medical Center. Penny’s role on the research team was to prepare the nurses for the study, establish protocols, and supervise the nurses. These are some of our findings:

  1. 39% of women in the study tested positive for high-risk human papilloma virus (HPV)
  2. a majority of the women with positive test results (similar to an abnormal pap smear) had lesions too large for treatment with our equipment
  3. most types of HPV present in these women are not fully covered by the vaccines on the market

You can find the article here.

After discussions with other clinicians in Malawi, Penny found a clinic using a new method for treating lesions, including large lesions. Penny is in the process of obtaining this type of instrument for Kindle’s Katawa Community Clinic and helping to establish a cervical cancer screening program there.