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.
In 2010, the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services (CBCHS) received a donation of HPV vaccine (Gardasil®) to immunize girls of ages 9-13 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 (p = 0.0006), income level (p = 0.0044) and perceived risks (p = 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.
Department of African American Studies, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
Richard G
RG
Wamai
Claudine Akono
CA
Ayissi
Geofrey O
GO
Oduwo
Stacey
S
Perlman
Edith
E
Welty
Simon
S
Manga
Javier Gordon
JG
Ogembo
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002163:Cameroon; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D055815:Young Adult
D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines