Cancer is a leading cause of death and accounted for 7.6 million deaths (around 13% of all deaths) in 2008. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the women of the world and allocated 7.9% of all cancers in women. Also, it is considered as the third leading cause of cancer death among women in the world (Bray et al., 2013). Cervical cancer incidence in Iran is lower than some of the other countries so that, according to the report of the National Center for Cancer Registry of Iran in year 2010, its incidence reached to 1.62 in 100,000 and its rank is eleventh in the total Iranian women's cancers (Minestry of Health and Medical Education Deputy of Health and treatment center for disease control and prevention cancer Office, 2009). High-quality screening with cytology (Pap testing) has markedly reduced mortality from squamous cell cervical cancer, which comprises 80-90% of cervical AbstractCervical cancer is the fourth common cancer among women worldwide. Pap smear screening has resulted in deceasing incidence of cervical cancer in developed countries but low uptake of Pap smear screening among women in developing countries is still a public health challenge. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the relationship between self-efficacy and timely uptake of Pap smear among Iranian women. A total of 580 married women referred to primary health care centers covered administratively by Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran were administered a questionnaire by trained staff. Data were analyzed with SPSS (version 16) software, using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. The mean age for participants was 33.1±8.8 years. There was a significant association between self-efficacy and Pap smear screening (P<0.01). There was also a positive correlation between duration of marriage and husband's education with Pap smear uptake (P<0.01). In univariate analysis, there was a significant association between Pap smear uptake and level of self-efficacy (OR = 15.3 for intermediate and OR=7.4 for good level), duration of marriage (OR = 5.7 for 5-14 years and OR=10.4 for more than 15), age (OR =2.7 for 27-34 years and OR=7.4 for more than 35 years) and husband education level (OR=2.3 for more than 12 years of education). In multivariate analysis, significant associations persisted between Pap smear uptake and self-efficacy (OR = 23.8; 95% CI: 8.7, 65.5), duration of marriage (OR = 5.9; 95% CI: 2.8, 12.2), age (OR = 3.9; 95% CI: 1.2, 12.9) and husband's education (OR = 2.5; 95% CI: 2.0, 10.3). Efforts are needed to increase women's knowledge about cervical cancer and improve their self-efficacy and perceptions of the Pap smear screening in order to reduce cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates.

Background The reproductive health and Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV programs in Iran were integrated as a pilot project in September 2014. This study aims to provide a comprehensive evaluation and analysis of the PMTCT of HIV program in Iran. Methods The pilot phase of PMTCT of HIV was launched in early September 2014 in selected centers including 170 health centers and 40 hospitals affiliated to medical universities of 16 provinces of Iran. In each medical university, a researcher-made checklist was administered to all newly-diagnosed HIV-positive pregnant women by an AIDS expert. Data was analyzed using SPSS 19. Results Overall, 69.4% of eligible pregnant women were enrolled in the pilot phase. From 134 reactive cases, 76 (56.7%) were confirmed as HIV positive. ARV consumption was irregular in 10 (13.2%) of HIV positive pregnant women. Also, 82.5% had CD4 count more than 350 after treatment, with an average of 55.5% increase in the number of CD4 in comparison to the baseline, and 84.8% had viral load suppression (< 200 copies/ml). Counseling and testing was done for the husbands of 75% of the women that resulted in the identification of 15 (39.5%) new HIV cases among husbands. Among the tested individuals, 23 (60.5%) males already knew their HIV status and were registered as HIV patients. HIV was diagnosed in one (1.5%) newborn. Conclusion Implementation of rapid HIV testing and PMTCT in Iran is one of the strengths of the national HIV control program. To eliminate MTCT, it is necessary to understand and overcome the barriers and challenges to the program in the pilot phase.

Background The reproductive health and Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programs in Iran were integrated as a pilot project in September 2014.This study aims to provide a comprehensive evaluation and situation analysis of the PMTCT programme in Iran.Methods Pilot phase of PMTCT was launched in early September 2014 in selected centers including 170 health centers and 40 hospitals affiliated to medical universities of 16 provinces of Iran. In each medical university, a researcher-made checklist was administered to all newly-diagnosed HIV-positive pregnant women by the AIDS expert. Data was analyzed using SPSS 19 software.Results Overall, 69.4% of eligible pregnant women were enrolled in the pilot phase. From 134 reactive cases, 76 (56.7%) were confirmed as HIV positive. In 10 (13.2%) of HIV positive pregnant women, consumption of ARV was irregular. Also, 82.5% had CD4 count more than 350 after treatment with an average of 55.5% increase in the number of CD4 in comparison to the baseline, and 84.8% had viral load suppression (<200 copies/ml). Counseling and testing was done for the husbands of 75% of the women, and resulted in the identification of 15 (39.5%) new HIV cases among husbands. of tested individuals, 23 (60.5%) males already knew their HIV status and were registered HIV patients. HIV was diagnosed in one (1.5%) newborn.Conclusion Implementation of rapid HIV testing and PMTCT in Iran is strength in the national HIV control program. To eliminate MTCT, it is necessary to understand and overcome barriers and challenges the program faced in the pilot phase.

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