Assessing the Effectiveness of a Community-Based Sensitization Strategy in Creating Awareness About HPV, Cervical Cancer and HPV Vaccine Among Parents in North West Cameroon.

Summary

In 2010, the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services (CBCHS) received a donation of HPV vaccine (Gardasil(Â®)) to immunize girls of ages 9-13Â years in the North West Region of Cameroon. We evaluated the effectiveness of the CBCHS campaign program in sensitizing parents/guardians to encourage HPV vaccine uptake, identified factors that influence parents' decisions to vaccinate girls, and examined the uptake of cervical cancer screening among mothers. We conducted a cross-sectional survey in four healthcare facilities run by CBCHS, churches and other social settings. A total of 350 questionnaires were distributed and 317 were used for the analysis. There were high levels of awareness about cervical cancer, HPV and HPV vaccine. 75.5% understood HPV is sexually transmitted and 90.3% were aware of the use of vaccine as a preventive measure. Effectiveness of the vaccine (31.8%) and side effects/safety (18.4%) were the major barriers for parents to vaccinate their daughters. Bivariate analysis further revealed that the level of education (pÂ =Â 0.0006), income level (pÂ =Â 0.0044) and perceived risks (pÂ =Â 0.0044) are additional factors influencing parents' decisions to vaccinate girls. 35.3% of women had sought a cervical cancer screening, significantly higher than the general estimated rate of screening (<10%) in other parts of Cameroon and sub-Saharan Africa. These results support the viability of a community-tailored sensitization strategy to increase awareness among the targeted audience of parents/guardians, who are critical decision-makers for vaccine delivery to children.

Affiliation

Department of African American Studies, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.

Journal Details

Name: Journal of community health
ISSN: 1573-3610
Pages:

MESH Definitions

Managed Competition

A strategy for purchasing health care in a manner which will obtain maximum value for the price for the purchasers of the health care and the recipients. The concept was developed primarily by Alain Enthoven of Stanford University and promulgated by the Jackson Hole Group. The strategy depends on sponsors for groups of the population to be insured. The sponsor, in some cases a health alliance, acts as an intermediary between the group and competing provider groups (accountable health plans). The competition is price-based among annual premiums for a defined, standardized benefit package. (From Slee and Slee, Health Care Reform Terms, 1993)

Abbreviated Injury Scale

Classification system for assessing impact injury severity developed and published by the American Association for Automotive Medicine. It is the system of choice for coding single injuries and is the foundation for methods assessing multiple injuries or for assessing cumulative effects of more than one injury. These include Maximum AIS (MAIS), Injury Severity Score (ISS), and Probability of Death Score (PODS).

Community-based Participatory Research

Collaborative process of research involving researchers and community representatives.

Empathy

An individual's objective and insightful awareness of the feelings and behavior of another person. It should be distinguished from sympathy, which is usually nonobjective and noncritical. It includes caring, which is the demonstration of an awareness of and a concern for the good of others. (From Bioethics Thesaurus, 1992)

Outcome Assessment (health Care)

Research aimed at assessing the quality and effectiveness of health care as measured by the attainment of a specified end result or outcome. Measures include parameters such as improved health, lowered morbidity or mortality, and improvement of abnormal states (such as elevated blood pressure).

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