-->PONE-D-24-13859-->-->Cervical cancer: Riverside women’s knowledge about preventive measures-->-->PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Saldanha da Silva,

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Additional Editor Comments:

Dear Author,

After careful consideration, I feel that it does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands.

The manuscript explores a very important topic, but there are major weaknesses in the results – they are not clear.

Kind regards,

[Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.]

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

-->Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented. -->

Reviewer #1: Yes

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-->2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->

Reviewer #1: N/A

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-->3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

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-->5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)-->

Reviewer #1: Title: Cervical cancer: Riverside women’s knowledge about preventive measures

Since this is a very specific population (riverside women from the Brazilian Amazon region), it would be interesting to highlight the nationality of this study in the title, since “Riverside” is a very generic term. Several articles in the journal PLOS ONE include the nationality of the study in the title, especially when it is a description of characteristics that are very specific to a population, without any intention of extrapolating the data, as is the case with this study.

Suggestion: “Cervical cancer: Amazonian riverside women’s knowledge about preventive measures” or “Cervical cancer: Brazilian riverside women’s knowledge about preventive measures”. Readers more familiar with the topic will know that the Brazilian Amazon region is a “hot spot” for cervical cancer, helping the reader to know whether or not this manuscript is of interest to them.

Abstract:

- Objectives, Methodology and Results – adequate

- Conclusion: Wouldn't it be better to mention some of the "gaps" in the knowledge found? Wouldn't it be better to put these gaps in the results?

Introduction:

The first two paragraphs provide information on cervical carcinogenesis, with an emphasis on the molecular role of HPV. This could be removed, as this is known information that is not of interest to this manuscript (only mentioning the role of HPV, without emphasis on molecular mechanisms). In this way, the authors could add information about studies that seek to improve screening strategies, corroborating the statistical data that the authors presented, which place the Brazilian Amazon region as a target for a closer look at this disease.

Therefore, for contextualization purposes, I suggest that quantitative studies on the prevalence of HPV infection in riverside and indigenous women, innovative methods of self-collection and molecular diagnosis of HPV for women living in isolated regions (riverside and indigenous) in Amazonas, Pará, Roraima be added, as we already have published articles on this, including in the journal PLOS ONE. These studies provide a lot of information on socioeconomic and clinical-behavioral characteristics related to HPV and other sexually transmitted pathogens that are quite comparable to the results of this study, and, taken together, provide a more complete view of the vulnerability situation of riverside women.

Methodology

- Adequate.

Results:

The descriptive sociodemographic and clinical results would be better understood in a table (first 3 paragraphs). These data are very important, as they characterize the population under study. Even though the authors have described certain aspects of the Cotijuba community in the Methodology, it is these sociodemographic data that confirm the vulnerability of these women. It is therefore necessary to make it easier for the reader to access these data so that the reader can better follow the discussion.

Discussion:

Adequate.

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Reviewer #1: No

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Cervical cancer: Riverside women’s knowledge in the Brazilian Amazon about preventive measures

PONE-D-24-13859R1

Dear Dr. Saldanha da Silva,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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Kind regards,

Marianne Clemence

Staff Editor

PLOS One

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Please could you provide a copy of the interview guide as a supporting information file with your final set of files for publication

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

-->Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.-->

Reviewer #1: All comments have been addressed

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-->2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented. -->

Reviewer #1: Yes

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-->3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->

Reviewer #1: N/A

**********

-->4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

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-->5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

-->6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)-->

Reviewer #1: I find the subject of this article very interesting. While qualitative research is not commonly featured in this journal, the topic is highly relevant, given that the Brazilian Amazon region stands out nationally in matters related to the prevalence of cervical cancer.

As a piece of qualitative research, I consider the article appropriate. The authors have made all the suggested modifications and corrections. Therefore, I deem it suitable for publication.

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-->7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

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Reviewer #1: No

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