Exploring health marketing strategies by the Ministry of Health Malaysia in preventing cervical cancer: A preliminary review

Abstract

In Malaysia, 12.2 of every 100,000 population of women are diagnosed with cervical cancer. According to WHO report in 2007, more than 700 Malaysian women die of cervical cancer each year. This statistic is expected to increase and is forecasted to be at ca 3,500 by the year 2025 (World Health Organization 2007). Therefore, it is crucial for women to understand the danger that cervical cancer poses and to be aware of the risks involved in order to alleviate or prevent this trend. It is also critical that Ministry of Health in Malaysia understand how women assimilate their knowledge about cervical cancer and use this information to develop/refine their health marketing strategies in this area. The objective of this study is to explore the health marketing strategies utilized by the Ministry of Health Malaysia in the prevention of cervical cancer. This study is using a multiple method approach will be implemented in 3 phases; an initial qualitative phase, followed by a quantitative phase and a second qualitative phase to meet the overall aim of this study. A total of 768 participants are required for this study and will include women who suffer from cervical cancer, women in at risk groups and staff of the Ministry of Health who have responsibility for implementing health marketing strategies. Ethical approval will be sought from the ethics committee at AIT and additional approval will be sought from the human ethics committee for each of the clinical centers to be used in this study prior to commencing data collection. In depth interviews (phase I) will be used to collect data from women who attend each center for cervical screening. Each interview will be guided by questions based upon the theoretical framework outlined in Appendix I. In Phase two of this study questionnaires will be developed based on the information gleamed from data obtained in phase one through factorial design. Further data will be collected using focus groups to include all stakeholders in phase three of this study. Analysis of data from in-depth interviews and focus groups will begin with verification of data through translation and back translation. When verified all these data will be handled sensitively and a recognised frame work will be used for analysis. All quantitative data will be analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 18.0). It is envisaged that the findings arising from this landmark research study will impact positively on women’s health in Malaysia, and will have a clear nexus to education and knowledge exchange.