Media interventions to increase cervical screening uptake in South Africa: an evaluation study of effectiveness
Abstract
Successful cervical cancer prevention depends on reaching, screening and treating women with pre-invasive disease. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of two media interventions—a photo-comic and a radio-drama—in increasing cervical screening uptake. A randomized controlled trial compared a photo-comic on cervical cancer screening with a placebo comic. One month after the comics were distributed a radio-drama paralleling the photo-comic was broadcast on the community radio station and a retrospective evaluation was carried out. The trial was set in Khayelitsha, a peri-urban squatter community near Cape Town, South Africa. A random sample consisted of 658 women between the ages of 35 and 65 years, from a stratified sample of census areas. The main outcome measure was self-reported cervical screening uptake 6 months after distribution of the comics. Seven percent (18 of 269) of women who received the intervention photo-comic reported cervical screening during the 6 months follow-up, compared with 6% (25 of 389) of controls (P = 0.89). Women who recalled hearing the radio-drama were more likely to report attending screening (nine of 53, 17%) than those who did not (19 of 429, 4%; P
Citation
Risi, L.; Bindman, J.P.; Campbell, O.M.R.; Imrie, J.; Everett, K.; Bradley, J.; Denny, L. Media interventions to increase cervical screening uptake in South Africa: an evaluation study of effectiveness. Health Education Research (2004) 19 (4) 457-468. [DOI: 10.1093/her/cyg044]