title: An educational program to increase cervical and breast cancer screening in Hispanic women: a Southwest Oncology Group study.
abstract: We conducted a community-based pilot study to train Hispanic cancer survivors as promotoras (lay health educators) to encourage their social contacts to obtain breast and cervical cancer screening. Promotoras were recruited from a private oncologist's practice at a Minority-Based Community Clinical Oncology Program (MBCCOP). Five Hispanic women were trained to serve as promotoras by attending a 12-week course. They shared cancer screening information with family and social contacts and encouraged them to obtain Papanicolaou smears and/or mammograms. Study endpoints included the number of women recruited and trained to serve as promotoras, the number of contacts made per promotora, and the number of contacts who were screened; data were based on contact logs maintained for 1 year. Screening examinations were documented by a postcard returned by the contact or by review of community health clinic records. Five promotoras contacted 141 (range = 24-49 per promotora) women to share cancer screening information. Fifty Hispanic women obtained screening after contact with a promotora. Twenty-nine underwent mammography (ages 25-58) and 43 received a Papanicolaou smear (ages 23-62). Hispanic female cancer survivors can be trained as promotoras. Screening information conveyed by a promotora can successfully prompt Hispanic women to obtain mammography and Papanicolaou smears.
authors.affiliation: Columbia River CCOP, Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital, 1015 NW 22nd Avenue, W-003, Portland, OR 97210, USA. lhansen@lhs.org
authors.forename: Lisa K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: Polly
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Feigl
authors.forename: Manuel R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Modiano
authors.forename: Jose A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Escobedo Sluder
authors.forename: Carol M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Moinpour
authors.forename: Donna K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Pauler
authors.forename: Frank L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Meyskens
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003153:Community Health Services; D003150:Community Health Workers / Q000193:education*; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000193:education; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000208:ethnology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016730:Program Development; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000706:statistics & numerical data