title: Increasing Melanoma Screening Among Hispanic/Latino Americans: A Community-Based Educational Intervention.
abstract: Melanoma incidence is increasing among Hispanics/Latinos in California. This community-based project reached out to a rural Hispanic/Latino community in North San Diego County to provide melanoma prevention and screening education. At a local community health fair, bilingual volunteer lay health workers led 10- to 15-minute-long information sessions on melanoma disease, risk factors, and skin self-examination techniques. Pearson chi-square analyses of participants' (N = 34) responses to pre- and postintervention evaluation surveys indicate significant increases in knowledge, risk awareness, and self-efficacy for self-screening. The results revealed that Hispanics/Latinos in a low socioeconomic stratum might be at moderate to high risk for developing melanoma. Their low annual income, low level of education, occupational sun-exposure, and lack of access to health care are likely factors that deter at-risk Hispanics/Latinos from seeking health care.
authors.affiliation: Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA Jerry L. Pettis Veterans Affairs Loma Linda Healthcare System, Loma Linda, CA, USA gchung.fnp@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Grace Y
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Gina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Jerry L. Pettis Veterans Affairs Loma Linda Healthcare System, Loma Linda, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Desmond
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gibson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002140:California; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000208:ethnology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Hispanic/Latino; community health promotion; melanoma skin cancer; self-efficacy; self-screening behavior