title: Imagined anatomy and other lessons from learner verification interviews with Mexican immigrant women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify clearer, learner-preferred, educational approaches for aspects of cervical cancer education found to be difficult to understand for low-literacy, Mexican, immigrant women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Kansas City, Kansas; Garden City, Kansas; San Antonio, Texas.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-five Mexican immigrant women in the United States for 5 years or less, ninth grade education or less, and predominantly Spanish speaking.
  
  
  METHODS
  Interviews were conducted to evaluate preference and best comprehension among options for specific cervical cancer educational elements, including reproductive system terminology, the purpose of Pap tests and meaning of results, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), and illustrations of anatomy and Pap procedure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified terminology, translation, content, and illustrations preferred by participants and areas of inadequate existing knowledge needed for comprehension of concepts being taught. Analogies, illustrations, and introduction of medical terms in conjunction with equivalent common Spanish terms were effective ways of building bridges from existing knowledge to new knowledge. Participants desired detailed information and shared new information with others
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We learned the importance of assessing patients' existing body knowledge. The detail desired by participants challenged common simplification approaches to teaching low-literacy learners. Participant willingness to share information challenged ideas of cultural taboo. Results provide evidence for more effective delivery of women's health education and call for further research on best approaches to teaching low-literacy learners.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Missouri Kansas City, Kansas City, MO 64108, USA.hunterj@umkc.edu
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.forename: Patricia J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Kelly
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D003144:Communication Barriers; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D004522:Educational Status; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007615:Kansas; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000458:organization & administration; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012494:Sampling Studies; D013664:Teaching Materials; D013781:Texas; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014626:Vaginal Smears