Reviewer ’s report  
 
Title: Factors affecting cervical cancer screening uptake, vis ual inspection with acetic acid 
positivity and its predictors among women attending cervical ca ncer screening servic e in Addis 
Ababa, Ethiopia  
 
Version: 2 Date: 27 Apr 2020  
 
Reviewer: Patricia Villain  
 
Reviewer's report:  
 
The authors have presented the results of an important study performed in Addis Ababa, 
Ethiopia. Some of the information will be useful to improve the quality and reach of ce rvical 
cancer screening in the country.  
 
Page 3 lanes 49 -52 (if iodine…..pink color): to be removed as this is VILI  
 
Page 5 lane 13: add a dot after screening to make it clearer. "Hospitals are doing ….  
 
Page 6 lane 56: I guess it is not interviewees but in terviewers  
 
Table 2 : mistake with VIA test results, column n(%) (positive versus negative)  
 
Page 9 lane 50: better to write "associated with rate of positive VIA "  
 
Page 13, lanes 53 -55: the quote from the woman reflects fears of the disease;  a clear link 
between the paragraph above the quote and the quote itself is missing at the moment.  
 
Page 15 lane 60: suggested "the lack of awareness regarding cervical cancer and cervical cancer 
screening, inaccessibility of the screening service, cultural and religiou s beliefs including fear of 
the screening procedure"….  
 
Are the methods appropriate and well described?  
If not, please specify what is required in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Does the work include the necessary controls?  
If not, please specify which controls are required in your  comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the data shown?  
If not, please explain in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Are you able to assess any statistics in the manus cript or would you recommend an 
additional statist ical review?  
If an additional statistical review is recommended, please speci fy what aspects require further 
assessment in your comments to the editors.  
 
I am able to assess the statistics  
 
Quality of written English  
Please indicate the quality of language i n the manuscript:  
 
Not suitable for publication unless extensively edited  
 
Declaration of competing interests  
Please complete a declaration of competing interests, considering the following questions:  
 
1.  Have you in the past five years received reimbursement s, fees, funding, or salary 
from an organisation that may in any way gain or lose financial ly from the 
publication of this manuscript, either now or in the future?  
 
2.  Do you hold any stocks or shares in an organisation t hat may in any way gain or 
lose financially from the publication of this manuscript, either now or in the 
future?  
 
3.  Do you hold or are you currently applying for any patents  relating to the content 
of the manuscript?  
 
4.  Have you received reimbursements, fees, funding, or sa lary from an organization 
that holds or has applied for patents relating to the content of the manuscript?  
 
5.  Do you have any other financial competing interests?  
 
6.  Do you have any non -financial competing interests in relation to this paper?  
 
If you can an swer no to all of the above, write 'I declare that I have  no competing interests' 
below. If your reply is yes to any, please give details below.  
 
I declare that I have no competing interests  
 
I agree to the open peer review policy of the journal. I understan d that my name will be included 
on my report to the authors and, if the manuscript is accepted f or publication, my named report 
including any attachments I upload will be posted on the website along with the authors' 
responses. I agree for my report to be made available under an Open Access Creative Commons 
CC-BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ). I understand that any comments 
which I do not wish to be included in my named report can be included as confidential comments  
to the editors, which will not be published.  
 
I agree to the open peer review policy of the journal