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Piloting an HIV Prevention Intervention for

Cameroonian Girls
Comfort Enah, PhD, RN
Marilyn Sommers, PhD, RN
Linda Moneyham, PhD, RN
Carrie Ann Long, PhD, RN
Gwendolyn Childs, PhD, RN
In this report, the authors describe the pilot test of
a school-based culturally tailored HIV prevention
intervention for 10- to 12-year-old Cameroonian
females. The aims of this research were to determine
the feasibility of recruiting and enrolling Cameroonian
girls in HIV prevention research studies, estimate the
efficacy of the intervention, and assess cultural sensitivity of the intervention and study protocols. Sixty
participants completed the study. A pre-/posttest
design was used to evaluate the intervention. Findings
include 100% participation of all eligible participants
with a majority (78%) of participants reporting positive perceptions of the intervention. The intervention
was estimated to be potentially effective with
significant increases in immediate postintervention
sexual-abstinence behavior skills (t 5 4.51; p , .05)
and intentions to postpone sexual activity (t 5 3.40;
p , .05). Findings can inform more rigorously designed studies of the intervention. This line of research
can contribute to decreasing new infections among
adolescents.
(Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care,
21, 512-521) Copyright 2010 Association of
Nurses in AIDS Care
Key words: adolescent sexual health, Cameroon,
HIV prevention, intervention research, public
health, sexual behavior, school based intervention

HIV infection is a rapidly escalating problem in

Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to about 10%
of the worlds population, but has more than 60% of
the worlds HIV-infected people (Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2006;
World Health Organization [WHO], 2007). At the
same time, with per capita incomes less than $2,500
in many of these African countries, biomedical
prevention and treatment therapies are simply
not affordable to the vast majority of citizens
(International Monetary Fund, 2009). HIV constitutes
a severe threat to future generations of Africans, and
the magnitude of the problem calls for urgent interventions. In particular, developing effective primary
prevention strategies to control the spread of the virus
remains a necessity and an important focus for health
interventions.
Comfort Enah, PhD, RN, is an assistant professor, School
of Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham,
Birmingham, Alabama. Marilyn Sommers, PhD, RN, is
a professor and Lillian S. Brunner Endowed professor of
Medical Surgical Nursing, University of Pennsylvania
School of Nursing, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Linda
Moneyham, PhD, RN, is a professor and Rachel Z. Both
Endowed Chair, School of Nursing at University of
Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham. Carrie Ann Long,
PhD RN, is an assistant professor, School of Nursing at
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham.
Gwendolyn Childs, PhD, RN, is an assistant professor,
School of Nursing at University of Alabama, Birmingham.

JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION OF NURSES IN AIDS CARE, Vol. 21, No. 6, November/December 2010, 512-521
doi:10.1016/j.jana.2010.02.011
Copyright 2010 Association of Nurses in AIDS Care

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Enah et al. / HIV Prevention Intervention 521

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