Abstract
Purpose: To develop a community based participatory research (CBPR) program that establishes an effective way to engage Africans in Zambia and underserved Alabama Black Belt communities in HIV awareness, stigma reduction, voluntary HIV testing and engagement in care, active and appropriate prevention and early detection of HIV-related malignancies, and proper treatment, when necessary.
Background: The Deep South Network for Cancer Control has trained over 800 community health advisors (CHAs) that have functioned to increase cancer awareness in their communities, leading to considerable improvement in breast and cervical cancer screening in the targeted communities. The UAB Center for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) has reached over 500,000 women for preventing mother-to-child transmission and has enrolled over 200,000 HIV patients into care. They screen over 1,000 women per month for cervical cancer. A major common issue in both programs is the stigma associated with HIV. This leads to unwillingness to be screened, continuous transmission of disease, and subsequent development of HIV-related malignancies.
Methodology: Bring the two communities together to learn from each other in order to develop an appropriate community based participatory research strategy to overcome the major issues. This would be accomplished by: (1) establishing an organizational infrastructure to form a foundational research program (2) conducting onsite meetings in the United States and Zambia to experience the unique attributes of each country (3) conducting a needs assessment to evaluate infrastructure addressing HIV testing and HIV-related cancer prevention, early detection and/or treatment at three levels: community, investigators and institution (4) developing a CBPR plan to insure underserved minorities in the Alabama Black Belt and Zambia receive appropriate HIV testing and HIV-related cancer prevention, early detection, and/or treatment.
Results: There were many lessons learned in Lusaka and in Alabama: 1) Peer educators play a vital role in outreach and support. Peer educators who are a part of the program, must be involved in support groups as well. 2) Peer educators have more impact when they are trained individuals. 3) Community ownership is important; have to find the passion in the community and have the ownership working from the inside out. 4) Education offered in the work place yields positive results. 5) Mass media dissemination has a great influence on the message being carried. 6) Targeted campaigns have proven beneficial. 7) Health fairs are widely received.
Citation Information: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2010;19(10 Suppl):B8.
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