Cameroonian Preadolescents’ Perspectives of an HIV Prevention Intervention
48
from different provinces which were attributed to differ-
ences in sexual permissiveness among ethnic groups. In
the same study, participants from the Northwest Province
were found to have initiated sexual activity earlier than
their counterparts from other provinces [10]. Regional
differences were also observed in a study on early initia-
tion of sexual activity [25]. The percentage of women
who were sexually active in adolescence and before mar-
riage varied from 8% in some regions of the country to
69% in other regions [25]. Reports could not be found in
the literature that provided any specific difference in
cultural practices in these provinces that could account
for the difference. Further exploration of these differ-
ences is warranted.
It must be noted that the choice of measures for ap-
propriateness of the intervention might have influenced
results obtained. The choice of a yes/no response format
has the advantage of being more appealing to participants
because it demands less concentration, but variability in
the responses is also lost by using this format [26] The
open-ended sections of the questions added to elicit more
in depth information were often not used by participants.
For those who used it, responses were often brief or
cryptic and provided little to understanding participants’
perceptions. Face to face interviews would have been a
better approach in eliciting more in depth information. In
addition because of the sensitive nature of the topic of
the intervention, the age, and gender of participants the
influence of social desirability bias cannot be ruled out.
In all, HIV infections pose a serious threat to the
health of young Cameroonians. The prevalence rate con-
tinues to rise at an alarming rate in this population. Ex-
perts have identified equipping pre-adolescent females
with skills necessary to reduce their vulnerability as an
effective strategy towards reversing the epide mic. Evalu-
ating the appropriateness of interventions to the devel-
opmental level, gender, and culture of participants is an
essential step in developing effective and sustainable
interventions. Find ings in this study ar e encouraging and
indicate that the intervention was appropriate from the
participants’ perspective. However these results need to
be interpreted with caution because the small sample size
and the convenien ce sampling approach used. In addition,
there are limits to generalizability of the findings as the
intervention was tailored based on knowledge of the de-
velopmental level and culture of participants. In spite of
the limitations, findings and practical lessons learned
from the study could inform other more rigorously de-
signed HIV preventions interventions studies in Camer-
oon or studies targeting preadolescents.
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