AUTHOR=Mitchell Sheona M. , Pedersen Heather N. , Sekikubo Musa , Biryabarema Christine , Byamugisha Josaphat J. K. , Mwesigwa David , Steinberg Malcolm , Money Deborah M. , Ogilvie Gina S. 

TITLE=Strategies for Community Education Prior to Clinical Trial Recruitment for a Cervical Cancer Screening Intervention in Uganda

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=Volume 6 - 2016

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2016.00090

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2016.00090

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=Introduction: Community engagement and education can improve acceptability and participation in clinical trials conducted in Kisenyi, Uganda. In preparation for a randomized controlled trial exploring different methods for cervical cancer screening, we explored optimal engagement strategies from the perspective of community members and health professionals.
Methods: We conducted key informant interviews followed by serial community forums with purposeful sampling and compared the perspectives of women in Kisenyi (N=26) to healthcare workers (HCW) at the local and tertiary care center levels (N=61) in a participatory, iterative process.
Results: Key themes identified included format, content, language, message delivery and target population. Women in Kisenyi see demonstration as a key part of an educational intervention and not solely a didactic session whereas health professionals emphasized the biomedical content and natural history of cervical cancer. Using local language and lay leaders with locally accessible terminology was more of a priority for women in Kisenyi than clinicians. Simple language with a clear message was essential for both groups.   Localization of language and reciprocal communication using demonstration between community members and HCW was a key theme.
Conclusions: Although perceptions of the format are similar between women and HCW, the content, language and messaging that should be incorporated in a health education strategy differ markedly. The call for lay leaders to participate in health promotion is a clear step towards transforming this cervical cancer screening project to be a fully participatory process. This is important in scaling-up cervical cancer screening programs in Kisenyi and will be central in developing health education interventions for this purpose.