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Development and Implementation of a Culturally Appropriate Education Program to Increase Cervical Cancer Screening among Maasai Women in Rural Tanzania.

ABSTRACT: Background:In Tanzania, the incidence of cervical cancer is nearly ten times that found in the US. Tanzanian women of the traditional Maasai tribe are financially and educationally marginalized and face a language barrier that reduces access to health care. While cervical cancer (CACX) screening programs are available locally, in our experience, Maasai women were less likely to use these services compared to local women of other tribal backgrounds. Objectives:A novel patient education program was designed to teach Maasai women about the natural history of cervical cancer and available screening and treatment. The program addressed the importance of preventative health and informed consent. Additionally, we sought to better understand the specific barriers Maasai women face in accessing and utilizing CACX screening services. Methods:The program used simple, scripted language translated into Maa language, the Maasai native language, with accompanying culturally appropriate 3D models. The effectiveness of the program was evaluated through pre and post-intervention surveys administered to Maasai and non-Maasai women as well as local healthcare providers, assessing knowledge of cervical cancer, screening, and treatment. Paired t-test analyses were used to analyze significance. Extensive question and answer sessions followed the education sessions from which additional barriers to screening were identified. Findings:Maasai women had minimal understanding of preventative health services prior to the intervention. While all groups showed an increase in knowledge following the education program, Maasai women demonstrated the greatest statistically significant improvement in knowledge. The proportion of Maasai women in attendance to CACX screening clinics increased by 18% after the intervention. Conclusions:Through a culturally sensitive and accessible patient education program, Maasai women gained knowledge of cervical cancer screening and treatment. This program serves as an adaptable model for other marginalized populations to increase patient understanding and informed consent, and to address issues that pertain to underutilization of health care services.

SUBMITTER: Lidofsky A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6798900 | biostudies-other | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Development and Implementation of a Culturally Appropriate Education Program to Increase Cervical Cancer Screening among Maasai Women in Rural Tanzania.

Lidofsky A A Miller A A Jorgensen J J Tajik A A Tendeu K K Pius D D Mallange E E Dougherty A A

Annals of global health 20191017 1

<h4>Background</h4>In Tanzania, the incidence of cervical cancer is nearly ten times that found in the US. Tanzanian women of the traditional Maasai tribe are financially and educationally marginalized and face a language barrier that reduces access to health care. While cervical cancer (CACX) screening programs are available locally, in our experience, Maasai women were less likely to use these services compared to local women of other tribal backgrounds.<h4>Objectives</h4>A novel patient educa ...[more]

PMID: 31673514

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Project description:BackgroundAddressing knowledge deficiencies about cancer clinical trials and biospecimen donation can potentially improve participation among racial and ethnic minorities. This paper describes the formative research process used to design a culturally-appropriate cancer clinical trials education program for African American and Latino communities. We characterized community member feedback and its integration into the program.MethodsWe incorporated three engagement approaches into the formative research process to iteratively develop the program: including community-based organization (CBO) leaders as research team members, conducting focus groups and cognitive interviews with community members as reviewers/consultants, and interacting with two community advisory groups. An iterative-deductive approach was used to analyze focus group data. Qualitative data from advisory groups and community members were compiled and used to finalize the program.ResultsFocus group themes were: 1) Community Perspectives on Overall Presentation; 2) Community Opinions and Questions on the Content of the Presentation; 3) Culturally Specific Issues to Participation in Cancer Clinical Trials; 4) Barriers to Clinical Trial Participation; and 5) Perspectives of Community Health Educators. Feedback was documented during reviews by scientific experts and community members with suggestions to ensure cultural appropriateness using peripheral, evidential, linguistic, sociocultural strategies, and constituent-involving. The final program consisted of two versions (English and Spanish) of a culturally-appropriate slide presentation with speaker notes and videos representing community member and researcher testimonials.ConclusionsIncorporating multiple community engagement approaches into formative research processes can facilitate the inclusion of multiple community perspectives and enhance the cultural-appropriateness of the programs designed to promote cancer clinical trial participation among African Americans and Latinos.

Project description:The National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP) in Australia underwent major changes on December 1st, 2017. The program changed from 2-yearly Pap testing for women aged 18-69 years to 5-yearly HPV testing for women aged 25-74 years including differential management pathways for oncogenic HPV 16/18 positive versus HPV non16/18 positive test results and the option of self-collection for under-screened women. We conducted a survey among cervical screening providers in primary care to assess their level of preparedness in undertaking cervical screening before (pre-renewal) and after (post-renewal) the new program was implemented. Surveys were conducted between 14th August and 30th November 2017 (pre-renewal) and 9th February and 26th October 2018 (post-renewal) among cervical screening providers who attended education sessions related to the new guidelines. Preparedness was assessed in three areas: 1) level of comfort implementing the new guidelines (7 questions), 2) level of confidence in their ability to convey information about the new guidelines (9 questions) and 3) level of agreement regarding access to resources to support implementation (11 questions). Proportions were calculated for each question response and pre- and post-renewal periods compared using generalised linear models. Open-ended questions related to anticipated barriers and ways to overcome barriers were also included in the questionnaires. Compared to the pre-renewal period, a higher proportion of practitioners in the post-renewal period were more comfortable offering routine screening to women ≥25 years (p = 0.005) and more confident explaining the rationale for not screening before 25 years (p = 0.015); confident explaining a positive HPV 16/18 (p = 0.04) and HPV non 16/18(p = 0.013) test result and were comfortable with not referring women with a positive HPV non 16/18 test result and low grade/negative cytology for colposcopy (p = 0.01). A higher proportion of Victorian practitioners in the post-renewal period sample were also comfortable (p = 0.04) and confident (p = 0.015) recommending self-collection to under-screened women and agreed that self-collection is a reliable test (p = 0.003). The most commonly reported suggestion was to provide information, education and communication materials to both patients and practitioners. Compared to the pre-renewal period, practitioners in the post-renewal period were better prepared to implement the renewed screening program. Healthcare providers require further support to implement the self-collection pathway.

Project description:Cervical cancer is a preventable disease. Unfortunately, its mortality is high in Hungary: 9.2 deaths /100000 women/year in 2015. The Hungarian organized, nationwide cervical screening program was launched in 2003, but it could improve the coverage rate of cervical cancer screening only by a few percentage points. The vast majority of women still uses opportunistic screening and the organized screening program had little impact on participation by women who never or rarely consult their gynecologists. We assessed whether involving general practitioners in the cervical cancer screening process would increase participation.The study consisted of two parts: 1. A questionnaire-based health survey was conducted using a representative sample of women aged 25 to 65 years from 11 Hungarian counties, in which we studied where women obtained information about cervical cancer screening. 2. Additionally, a model program and its evaluation were implemented in the practices of general practitioners in one of the 11 counties (Zala county). In this program, general practitioners were informed of their patients' participation in the cervical cancer screening program, and they motivated those who refused the invitation.Questionnaire-based health survey: A total of 74% (95% confidence interval (CI): 70-77%) of the target population had a screening examination within the previous 3 years. The majority (58, 95% CI: 54-62%) of the target population did not ask for information about cervical cancer screening at all. Only 21% (95% CI: 17-26%) consulted their general practitioners about cancer screening. Evaluation of the model program: the general practitioners effectively motivated 24 out of 88 women (27, 95% CI: 18-38%) who initially refused to participate in the screening program.The majority of Hungarian women are not informed about cervical cancer screening beyond the invitation letter. General practitioners could play a more important role in mobilizing the population to utilize preventive services. The involvement of general practitioners in the organization of the cervical cancer screening program could increase the participation of those women who generally refuse the services.

Project description:The aim of this study was to assess differences in cervical cancer screening and treatment outcomes by HIV status in a routine programmatic setting with a high generalized HIV prevalence. Women living with HIV (WLHIV) are at heightened risk of developing cervical cancer and the World Health Organization recommends all WLHIV who are sexually active be screened, regardless of age. In 2018, Namibia's Ministry of Health and Social Services introduced a screen-and-treat approach using visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and ablative treatment with cryotherapy or thermocoagulation with a focus on screening HIV-positive women due to Namibia's 11.5% prevalence of HIV in women aged 15-49. Using program data from October 2018 to March 2020 from seven of the country's 14 regions, we calculated descriptive statistics and chi-square tests to test the statistical significance of differences in VIA-positivity, ineligibility for ablative treatment, treatment completion, and same day treatment completion by HIV status. Between October 2018 and March 2020, the program conducted 14,786 cervical cancer screenings. Among 8,150 women who received their first VIA screening, more WLHIV screened VIA-positive (17%) than HIV-negative women (15%). This difference was statistically significant (p = 0.02). Among 2,272 women who screened VIA-positive at any screening, 1,159 (82%) completed ablative treatment. This suggests ablative treatment is feasible and acceptable in resource-limited settings. WLHIV were also more likely to complete treatment than HIV-negative women (p<0.01). Differences in health seeking behavior of sub-populations as well as resource availability between service delivery points should be considered for further investigation. Going forward in order to strengthen program implementation and expand screening access and uptake further investigation is needed to determine cancer incidence by HIV status, age, and time since last screening to assess cases that are averted as well as potential rates of overtreatment.

Project description:Background Proper implementation of interventions by health professionals has a critical effect on their effectiveness and the quality of care provided, especially in the case of vulnerable pregnant women. It is important, therefore, to assess the implementation of interventions in care settings to serve as input to improve implementation. Objective The aim of this study is to identify factors that influence the implementation of interventions for vulnerable pregnant women in the North of the Netherlands from the perspective of health professionals. In this region, an intergenerational transfer of poverty is apparent, leading to many health problems and the transfer of unhealthy lifestyles and the associated diseases to subsequent generations. Methods We used a qualitative research design. Semi-structured interviews with 39 health professionals were conducted between February 2019 and April 2020. To analyse the findings, the MIDI (Measurement Instrument for Determinants of Innovations) was used, an instrument designed to identify what determinants influence the actual use of a new or existing innovation. Results We found two themes that influence the implementation of interventions: 1. The attitude of health professionals towards vulnerable pregnant women: stereotyped remarks and words expressing the homogenization of vulnerable pregnant women. 2. A theme related to the MIDI determinants, under which we added six determinants. Conclusion Our research showed that many factors influence the implementation of interventions for vulnerable pregnant women, making the optimal implementation of interventions very complex. We highlight the need to challenge stereotypical views and attitudes towards specific groups in order to provide relation-centred care, which is extremely important to provide culturally appropriate care. Health professionals need to reflect on their own significant influence on access to and the use of care by vulnerable groups. They hold the key to creating partnerships with women to obtain the best health for mothers and their babies.

Project description:BackgroundThe standard face-to-face training for the integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI) continues to be plagued by concerns of low coverage of trainees, the prolonged absence of trainees from the health facility to attend training and the high cost of training. Consequently, the distance learning IMCI training model is increasingly being promoted to address some of these challenges in resource-limited settings. This paper examines participants' accounts of the paper-based IMCI distance learning training programme in three district councils in Mbeya region, Tanzania.MethodsA cross-sectional qualitative descriptive design was employed as part of an endline evaluation study of the management of possible serious bacterial infection in Busokelo, Kyela and Mbarali district councils of Mbeya Region in Tanzania. Key informant interviews were conducted with purposefully selected policymakers, partners, programme managers and healthcare workers, including beneficiaries and training facilitators.ResultsAbout 60 key informant interviews were conducted, of which 53% of participants were healthcare workers, including nurses, clinicians and pharmacists, and 22% were healthcare administrators, including district medical officers, reproductive and child health coordinators and programme officers. The findings indicate that the distance learning IMCI training model (DIMCI) was designed to address concerns about the standard IMCI model by enhancing efficiency, increasing outputs and reducing training costs. DIMCI included a mix of brief face-to-face orientation sessions, several weeks of self-directed learning, group discussions and brief face-to-face review sessions with facilitators. The DIMCI course covered topics related to management of sick newborns, referral decisions and reporting with nurses and clinicians as the main beneficiaries of the training. The problems with DIMCI included technological challenges related to limited access to proper learning technology (e.g., computers) and unfriendly learning materials. Personal challenges included work-study-family demands, and design and coordination challenges, including low financial incentives, which contributed to participants defaulting, and limited mentorship and follow-up due to limited funding and transport.ConclusionDIMCI was implemented successfully in rural Tanzania. It facilitated the training of many healthcare workers at low cost and resulted in improved knowledge, competence and confidence among healthcare workers in managing sick newborns. However, technological, personal, and design and coordination challenges continue to face learners in rural areas; these will need to be addressed to maximize the success of DIMCI.

Dataset Information

Development and Implementation of a Culturally Appropriate Education Program to Increase Cervical Cancer Screening among Maasai Women in Rural Tanzania.

Publications

Development and Implementation of a Culturally Appropriate Education Program to Increase Cervical Cancer Screening among Maasai Women in Rural Tanzania.

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