Woman-to-woman: Feasibility of a lay health advisor program for cervical cancer education in Grenada, W.I

Kamilah B Thomas-Purcell; Samantha Patterson; Andrew N McIntosh; Christine Richards; Marva Primus-Joseph; Donrie J Purcell; Kimlin Ashing

doi:10.1016/j.pecinn.2022.100073

Woman-to-woman: Feasibility of a lay health advisor program for cervical cancer education in Grenada, W.I

PEC Innov. 2022 Aug 18:1:100073. doi: 10.1016/j.pecinn.2022.100073. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Authors

Kamilah B Thomas-Purcell¹, Samantha Patterson², Andrew N McIntosh³, Christine Richards⁴, Marva Primus-Joseph⁵, Donrie J Purcell⁶, Kimlin Ashing⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health Science, College of Health Care Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA.
² Canton Medical Education Foundation Aultman /Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospitals, Canton, OH, USA.
³ Women's and Children's Health Services Unit, Dr. D. Orlando Smith Hospital, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.
⁴ Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, St. George's, Grenada, West Indies.
⁵ Grenada Planned Parenthood Association, St. George's, Grenada, West Indies.
⁶ Satcher Health Leadership Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
⁷ Division of Health Equity, City of Hope Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of Woman- to-Woman, a lay health advisor (LHA)-led educational intervention on cervical cancer and human papillomavirus (HPV) knowledge in a cohort of at-risk Grenadian women.

Methods: LHAs from high-risk parishes were trained in the administration of the intervention and administered the program to 78 local women. Participants completed a pre- and post-knowledge test and a session evaluation. LHAs participated in a process evaluation focus group.

Results: Sixty-eight percent (68%) of participants obtained higher knowledge scores following the educational intervention. The difference between the pre- and post-test scores was statistically significant (p = 0.05). Almost 94% agreed that they were taught new and useful information by credible, community informed and responsive LHAs. Ninety percent (90%) indicated great satisfaction and high motivation to recommend to others. LHAs reported on the intervention and their community interactions.

Conclusions: Results demonstrate that a LHA-led educational intervention significantly improved participants' knowledge of cervical cancer, HPV, Papanicolaou test and vaccination against HPV. Innovations: Researchers trancreated an evidenced based intervention originally designed for Latina women for Grenadian women. There is no evidence in the literature of previous LHA- cervical cancer education studies conducted in Grenada nor the Caribbean.

Keywords: Cervical Cancer; Evidence-based curriculum; Grenada; Lay Health Advisor; Theory-based curriculum; Transcreation.