An audit of the cervical screening programme in the National Drug Treatment Centre (NDTC)

Abstract

Background Women diagnosed with substance use disorders (SUDs) have higher rates of major medical conditions compared to women without SUDs. Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women aged 20-39 years worldwide and women with SUDs have an increased risk of cervical cancer compared to women without SUD. The National Drug Treatment Centre (NDTC) cervical screening programme, derived from the national CervicalCheck programme, offers free cervical screening to patients attending for treatment of SUDs. Aims This study aimed to audit adherence to the NDTC Cervical Screening guidelines before and after the implementation of an awareness-raising educational intervention. Methods The electronic clinical records of women aged between 25 and 60 years attending the lead consultant's (M.S.) outpatient clinic were reviewed for documentary evidence indicating that information about the cervical screening programme had been discussed. This was completed before and one month after the implementation of an awareness-raising educational intervention. Results All women (n = 46, mean age 36.3 (SD = 6.5) years) had an opioid use disorder; 85% had a benzodiazepine use disorder, and 24% had an alcohol use disorder. Of these, 80% had at least one chronic medical condition, 76% had a psychiatric disorder, and 59% were homeless. Adherence to the NDTC cervical screening guideline, as indicated by documentary evidence in clinical records, was 33% (14/43) at baseline, and rose to 88% (36/41) (p < 0.0001) one month after the intervention. Conclusions This completed audit cycle shows that an awareness-raising educational intervention can significantly improve adherence to a cervical screening programme in women with SUDs.

Uptake of Am(III) Ions and Eu(III) Ions Using Cyclic Substituted N, O‐hybrid 1,10‐Phenanthroline Derived Phosphine Oxide Ligands ‐ A DFT Exploration

“…Usually two processes are used for the separation of An(III) from Ln(III), one of which is the direct selective extraction of minor actinide ions from the nitric acid medium into an organic medium. Few of these methods are TRUEX (Transuranium Extraction), [6] SANEX (Selective Actinide Extraction), [7] and TRPO (Trialkyl Phosphine Oxides) [8] process. The other method is the co‐extraction of An(III) and Ln(III) into the organic medium followed by the selective partitioning of actinides, such as TALSPEAK (Trivalent Actinide Lanthanide Separations by Phosphorus reagent Extraction from Aqueous Complexes) process [9] .…”