Piloting an HIV prevention intervention for Cameroonian girls

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 = 4.51; p < .05) and intentions to postpone sexual activity (t = 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.