Effect of social marketing on the knowledge, attitude, and uptake of pap smear among women residing in an urban slum in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction Nigeria has a low uptake of cervical cancer screening and is one of the five countries that represent over half of the global burden of deaths from cervical cancer. Social marketing principles can be used to design and implement interventions to increase uptake of cervical cancer screening. This study assessed the effect of a social marketing intervention on the knowledge, attitude, and uptake of pap smear among women residing in an urban slum in Lagos State, Nigeria. Materials and methods This was a quasi-experimental study. The intervention arm consisted of 140 women recruited from Ago-Egun Bariga community and the control arm consisted of 175 women recruited from Oto-Ilogbo extension community. Social marketing intervention was instituted in the intervention group. Data analysis was done using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20 and Stata version 16.0. Between groups comparisons and within groups comparisons were done using bivariate analysis with Chisquare, Students t test and Paired t test as appropriate. Results In both the intervention and control groups, the mean knowledge score of cervical cancer was low at baseline (0.0 ± 0.3 and 0.1 ± 0.9 respectively). In the intervention group, there was a significant increase in mean knowledge score to 15.1 ± 3.7, post-intervention (p < 0.001). In both groups, the mean attitude score of cervical cancer was low at baseline (27.1 ± 0.8 in the intervention group and 27.2 ± 1.4 in the control group). In the intervention group, there was a significant increase in mean attitude score to 36.5 ± 4.8, post-intervention (p < 0.001). In both the intervention and control groups, uptake of pap smear was low at baseline (0.0% and 0.6%, respectively). In the intervention group, there was a significant increase in uptake of pap smear to 84.3%, post-intervention (p < 0.001). There was no statistically significant change in knowledge, attitude or uptake of pap smear in the control group, post-intervention. Conclusion This study demonstrated that social marketing intervention can be successful in improving knowledge, attitude, and also the uptake of pap smear, even in settings where these are abysmally low. It is recommended that social marketing intervention be employed as a strategy for improving cervical cancer screening among women residing in slums.

Barriers and Recommendations for a Cervical Cancer Screening Program among Women in Low-resource Settings in Lagos Nigeria: A Qualitative Study

“…This qualitative study was conducted as part of a larger quasi-experimental study that assessed the effect of a social marketing intervention on the knowledge, attitude, and uptake of pap smears among women residing in slums. [28] The intervention was a Pap smear screening program that was designed using the concept of social marketing. The 4Ps of the social marketing mix -Product (Pap smear procedure), Place (venue for the pap smear services), Price (the cost of the test) and the Promotion (advertising done) were taken into consideration in the intervention.…”

“…The 4Ps of the social marketing mix -Product (Pap smear procedure), Place (venue for the pap smear services), Price (the cost of the test) and the Promotion (advertising done) were taken into consideration in the intervention. [28] The FGDs were conducted before the social marketing intervention and were meant to guide all aspects of the intervention, including the marketing mix.…”

Barriers and recommendations for a cervical cancer screening program among women in low-resource settings in Lagos Nigeria: a qualitative study

“…This qualitative study was conducted as part of a larger quasi-experimental study that assessed the effect of a social marketing intervention on the knowledge, attitude, and uptake of pap smears among women residing in slums [ 28 ]. The intervention was a Pap smear screening program that was designed using the concept of social marketing.…”

“…The intervention was a Pap smear screening program that was designed using the concept of social marketing. The 4Ps of the social marketing mix - Product (Pap smear procedure), Place (venue for the pap smear services), Price (the cost of the test) and the Promotion (advertising done) were taken into consideration in the intervention [ 28 ]. The FGDs were conducted before the social marketing intervention and were meant to guide all aspects of the intervention, including the marketing mix.…”

Characteristics associated with optimistic or pessimistic perception about the probability of contracting COVID-19: A cross-sectional study of Japanese older adults

“…Tailored risk communication is often utilized in social marketing, defined by Kotler and Lee as “a process that applies marketing principles and techniques to create, communicate, and deliver value in order to influence target audience behaviors that benefit society (public health, safety, the environment, and communities) as well as the target audience” ( Kotler & Lee, 2008 ). For example, interventions based on social marketing have succeeded in increasing participation in cancer screening ( Hirai et al, 2016 ; Ishikawa et al, 2012 ; Olubodun et al, 2022 ). Despite the merits of social marketing, only a few studies have explored the characteristics of people with optimistic or pessimistic perceptions of the probability of acquiring infection, especially those associated with optimistic or pessimistic perceptions of COVID-19 ( Hammad et al, 2021 ; Jovančević & Milićević, 2020 ).…”