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Blog by Faith Otewa In my role as site coordinator of the Kisumu Center office, I’ve had the opportunity to oversee the “Hybrid Study,” in which we are looking at integrating HPV testing into community health campaigns providing multiple other disease services, including HIV testing, family planning and TB testing.  Many of the experiences will linger on with us for many years to come; while some illustrate the challenges encountered in conducting research and community-based care in Africa, others show the power of community mobilization and knowledge. It is the 10th week out in the field and the study team are getting ready to recruit at the 3rd set of campaigns. However, as if often the case in western Kenya, and certainly when we are working in tents set out in the middle of fields, the climate has had a big impact on study.  The harsh weather and copious rainstorms experienced in the month of May this vastly affected recruitment. There has...

Blog by Amber Fleck, MS2, University of Colorado: In the United States, health education is seemingly everywhere: ads online reminding women of the importance of pap smears, TV commercials advising against smoking, or posters in bar bathrooms providing safe sex advice. With this abundance of exposure to health education, it is a striking difference to visit a country where many communities don’t have regular access to this kind of information, especially if that information regards sexual or reproductive health. In an effort to bridge this gap and enhance community health education the Kenya Ministry of Health began using lay workers, also known as community health volunteers (CHVs). CHVs travel door-to-door in their assigned communities to educate individuals about disease management, including reproductive and maternal health, and provide referrals to the clinic when necessary. In theory, this is an excellent way to increase access to health information and care; however, these programs have had some significant challenges. One challenge is that these are...

By Moreen Njoroge, T-19 Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide and the most common cancer among women in sub-Saharan Africa. The risk for cervical pre-cancer and cancer is increased by the biological effects of co-infection with HIV and HPV, both of which have a higher prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa and especially in Migori, Kenya where the seroprevalence of HIV/AIDS is not uncommon. The social and economic factors in Migori, Kenya make cervical cancer control more difficult to achieve with the established standard of care in developed countries. A major barrier to accessing screening and treatment services for cervical cancer in this region is poor health literacy associated with the lower educational-attainment rates in Kenya, especially for women. Structural barriers associated with increased cervical cancer mortality rates include lack of diagnostic tools for screening, understaffing in clinics and hospitals, a paucity of pathology laboratories and the long waiting times associated with screening-result transmission. The lack of treatment...