A team from the School of Nursing at the National University (N.U.S.) of Samoa, collaborated with tertiary institutions in the United Kingdom to launch a video on the risks of pelvic organ prolapse. 

The N.U.S. team worked in conjunction with those from the University of Stirling and Glasgow Caledonian University to produce the educational video, which was displayed on Monday. 

The video was produced by local film company - Samoa Grassroots Studio - and was funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund in the U.K. The British High Commissioner to Samoa, David Ward, was among the event's attendees.

Pelvic Organ Prolapse is a condition affecting an estimated 4 out of every 10 women who bear children in the Western World; data on its prevalence condition among women in the Pacific is absent.  

The chances of developing Pelvic Organ Prolapse increase with the number of children a woman has, as well as getting older, and also if other women in the family had pelvic organ prolapse and being obese.  

Limited sexual and reproductive health education in schools and in general limit women’s knowledge of basic anatomy and physiology of the pelvic organs. Many women do not have symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse or symptoms are not recognized as such or attributed to aging. Early detection and treatment of Pelvic Organ Prolapse is beneficial for women, and can improve the quality of their lives.  

The Vice Chancellor and President of the National University of Samoa, Aiono Professor Alec Ekeroma conveyed that many women with urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse suffer in silence primarily due to shame, and secondly because of not knowing that assistance and relief of symptoms are available.

In 2020, the multi-country team translated the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Symptom Score, a tool to measure the occurrence of signs and symptoms of the condition, into Samoan and piloted it with a small group of women. Several of the women interviewed had little to no knowledge about the pelvic organs and the reproductive health system.

Although the rest of the team could not attend, they were there in spirit. Professor Suzanne Hagen Professor of Health Services Research, at Glasgow Caledonian University in the UK stated via email that she is delighted to have been part of the exciting project which has developed a very important resource to help improve the health of women in Samoa. She is also proud that Glasgow Caledonian University has been able to contribute to the initiative.

The video seeks to address this information gap, as a video narrated in Samoan, with Samoan subtitles, and with sign language. The signing was provided by the Deaf Association of Samoa. The video covers the basic anatomy and physiology of the pelvic organs, the risk factors for pelvic organ prolapse, the signs and symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse, and how it is treated. 

English and Samoan versions of the video are available through YouTube will soon be available through the N.U.S. social media, University of Stirling and Glasgow Caledonian University. 

This project is one of two projects being undertaken by the School of Nursing to improve access to health information. The school’s team featured Uila Lima, Ramona Boodoosingh, and Saunima’a Ma Fulu-Aiolupotea. They sought to produce an educational video that was accessible, inclusive, and in the Samoan language, so that women locally and abroad could learn about their bodies in a safe space or virtual space to understand their health concerns.