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Community Health Fairs and Cancer Prevention in Low-Resource Settings: A Global Perspective

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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Health fairs could increase screening uptake and ultimately contribute to reducing inequalities in cancer outcomes between low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) and developed countries. Reviews on this topic have been limited to health fairs in the USA. In this paper, we review the scientific literature for evidence that support health fairs as a strategy to improve cancer prevention.

Recent Findings

Studies across the USA consistently reported that health fairs were effective in providing cancer education and screening tests to historically marginalized groups. The studies reviewed were mostly observational and rarely reported data on health outcomes following the health fair. Nigeria, Honduras, Kenya and Uganda were the only countries outside of the USA identified from our review. Compared to the USA, these LMICs showed greater emphasis for promoting screening in the general population and self-administered cervical cancer screening.

Summary

Although the quality of scientific evidence is not convincing, health fairs appear to accelerate cancer prevention in historically marginalised groups. More robust research is needed to examine the role of health fairs in cancer prevention in LMICs; particularly, in small islands.

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Data Availability

No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

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Funding

Chelsea Branford was supported during this work by a mobility grant from the ELAN project (Linguistic exchanges and innovative learning through mobility) funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF, SYNERGIE N°: 5580, Order N°: 2018–07).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vaughan Arthur Lewis Institute for Research and Innovation (VALIRI), Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, Morne Fortune, LC04 101, Castries, Saint Lucia

    Chelsea Branford & Aviane Auguste

  2. Université des Antilles, Campus de Schoelcher, 97275, Schoelcher, Martinique, France

    Chelsea Branford

  3. Department of Health Wellness and Human Performance, Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, Morne Fortune, LC04 101, Castries, Saint Lucia

    Prisca Regis-Andrew

  4. College of Education Health Sciences and Human Services, State University of New York at Fredonia, Fredonia, USA

    Prisca Regis-Andrew

  5. Faces of Cancer Saint Lucia, Tapion Ridge, Castries, LC04 201, Saint Lucia

    Dorothy Phillip

  6. Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics & Occupational Health, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Aviane Auguste

  7. African-Caribbean Cancer Consortium, Philadelphia, USA

    Aviane Auguste

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  1. Chelsea Branford
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  2. Prisca Regis-Andrew
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  3. Dorothy Phillip
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  4. Aviane Auguste
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Contributions

Conceived and designed the current study: AA, DP. Responsible for data curation and collection: CB, AA. Cleaned and analysed the data: CB, AA. Drafted the original manuscript: AA. Critically reviewed the manuscript for important intellectual content and approved the final version: CB, PRA, DP, AA. Contributed to the interpretation of data: CB, PRA, AA. Has primary responsibility for the final content of the manuscript: CB, PRA, DP, AA.

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Correspondence to Aviane Auguste.

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Branford, C., Regis-Andrew, P., Phillip, D. et al. Community Health Fairs and Cancer Prevention in Low-Resource Settings: A Global Perspective. Curr Epidemiol Rep (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40471-024-00345-3

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