Cancer is a leading cause of premature death and disability in Samoa. Recognizing the importance of symptom awareness and early detection, the Samoa Cancer Society (SCS) developed the 'Vave' (quickly) campaign as the first multi-media cancer awareness campaign in Samoa. The campaign adopted a three-pronged community engagement approach including mass media; printed resources; and community outreach at culturally appropriate locations including churches, villages and schools. The campaign promoted three key messages: detect signs and symptoms quickly; quickly see a doctor; and quickly call SCS. To measure impact, data were collected using several methods around the outreach education sessions (pre- and post-surveys), campaign recall (survey) and Vave-related enquiries received by SCS. The findings revealed the campaign was effective in increasing awareness of cancer and importance of early detection demonstrated through community recall of campaign messages, increased enquiries to SCS and improved knowledge. However, it is of note that almost 30% of campaign recall respondents stated they were unsure or would not see a doctor if concerned about a sign of cancer. The reasons given being a lack of knowledge, lack of trust in hospitals and preference for traditional healing. This suggests more targeted culturally sensitive strategies are needed including partnering with traditional healers. Further, advocacy efforts are needed to address the structural barriers to cancer detection and treatment together with continuing education around causes and symptoms of cancer targeting the hard-to-reach communities in Samoa.
Keywords: Pacific Islands; cancer prevention; community education.
Cancer is a number one killer and cause of disability in Samoa. Identifying cancer early can lead to better health outcomes. Ability to understand signs and symptoms of cancer among community members is crucial in facilitating early detection. Recognizing this, the Samoa Cancer Society (SCS) developed the first ever multi-media cancer awareness campaign in Samoa—the ‘Vave’ which means ‘quickly’. The campaign used mass media; printed resources; and community outreach to spread three key messages: detect signs and symptoms quickly; quickly see a doctor; and quickly call SCS. To understand how effective the campaign was, data were collected through surveys and statistics on Vave-related calls to SCS. The campaign was effective in increasing awareness of cancer and importance of early detection demonstrated through community recall of campaign messages, increased enquiries to SCS and improved knowledge. Efforts are needed to address the structural barriers to cancer early detection and continuing education targeting the hard-to-reach communities in Samoa.
© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press.