Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract ELIC2025204 (Oral 125) | Published: 14 Aug 2025
Martha Omonsemen Okonofua1,&, Ekaete Alice Tobin1,2, Ola Chikerendu Egbuta1, Reuben Agbons Eifediyi1,2, Joseph Okoeguale1,2, Sylvanus Akhalufo Okogbenin1,2, Maxy Odike1, George Akpede1,2, Danny Akhere Asogun1,2
1Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Edo State, Nigeria, 2Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria
&Corresponding author: Martha Omonsemen Okonofua, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Edo State, Nigeria. Email: okonofuamartha9@gmail.com
Received: 30 Apr 2025. Accepted: 09 Jul 2025. Published: 14 Aug 2025.
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Lassa fever, community, community engagement, strategies
©Martha Omonsemen Okonofua et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Martha Omonsemen Okonofua et al. Lessons learnt from community engagement in a prospective cohort study on Lassa fever incidence in Edo State, Nigeria. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc5):00125. https://doi.org/10.37432/jieph-confpro5-00125
Effective community engagement (CE) is essential in population -based research, as it enhances understanding, facilitates recruitment retention and trust. In West Africa, Lassa Fever (LF) represents a persistent public health challenge, hence the need for context-specific engagement strategies. This paper describes the CE approaches implemented, and lessons learned from the CEPI ENABLE 1.0 LF Cohort Study conducted in Edo State to inform the design of LF vaccine clinical trials
Between December 2020 and June 2023, 5,053 participants from 657 households across seven high-burden communities in Edo State were enrolled. Initial engagement activities involved advocacy visits to state, local government and community leaders. Subsequently, structured interactions occurred at baseline and every six months, complemented by adhoc activities as needed. A team made up of the Community Advisory Board, nominated liaison officers and field workers facilitated this effort. After trainings on effective communication, field workers resided within the communities to ensure ongoing engagement. CE encompassed town hall meetings, households’ visits, focus group discussions, and using culturally appropriate health education delivered in local dialects. LF survivors also served as champions. All engagement activities adhered to standardized protocol.
The study achieved 100% recruitment and high retention (94.6%). Initial misconceptions particularly about blood collection were clarified through ongoing engagement. Activities included 4 focus group discussions, 30 town hall meetings, and 3 course specific sessions in 2 communities. Community perception shifted from mistrust to active interest, with increased adoption of preventive health practices and strengthened relationship evidenced by calls for study continuation
The ENABLE 1.0 study demonstrated the importance of culturally appropriate and participatory community engagement in facilitating successful health research. Future studies such as the LF vaccine clinical trials should incorporate locally embedded trust-building strategies from the outset to optimize study outcome.
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