DEVELOPING A WEB-BASED APPLICATION FOR CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING VIA VISUAL INSPECTION: ENHANCING TRAINING AND CLINICAL PRACTICE IN VIETNAM

Background: Cervical cancer is the second most prevalent genital cancer among women, with higher incidence and mortality rates in Vietnam than in the United States and other developing Asian countries. In Vietnam, challenges, such as limited preventive resources and insufficient health education, have hindered the implementation of comprehensive cervical cancer screening. The Ministry of Health’s National Action Plan (2016-2025) aims to address these gaps by promoting technological applications and training. Developing a web-based application that aggregates images describing cervical features in cervical cancer screening based on visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) has not been implemented systematically in medical education and clinical training in Vietnam precisely or in resource-constrained countries in general. Methods: Multimedia and database resources from Jhpiego's 2002 CD-ROM "Visual Inspection for Cervical Cancer" were extracted and transformed with Jhpiego's authorization. Multimedia content, originally in the Adobe Director with SWF files, was restructured for compatibility with HTML5 using SWF2JS. The database was adapted to a MySQL platform to store the content and user data. The web-based application, deployed on a LAMP stack, uses PHP and Bootstrap for accessibility across multiple devices and includes user management, self-assessment, and content management functionalities. Results: The application, which provides multilanguage support and user account management, currently serves 445 activated users, including doctors/lecturers, healthcare staff, and medical students. Average monthly access exceeds 9,000 visits, indicating high engagement with resources such as a cervical image library and interactive exercises. Piloted in Thua Thien Hue and introduced nationally, the application is now integrated into health science institutions and primary healthcare programs in Vietnam to aid cervical cancer screening and early detection. Conclusions: The development of a web-based application for VIA cervical cancer screening training addresses the limitations of the previous CD-ROM-based methods, offering a more accessible, modern, and practical tool for healthcare personnel. By improving connectivity, data storage, and multi-platform compatibility, this tool strengthens cervical cancer prevention and control at the grassroots level, thus supporting Vietnam's national screening initiatives.