title: Addressing Breast Cancer Health Disparities in the Mississippi Delta Through an Innovative Partnership for Education, Detection, and Screening.
abstract: Projects to reduce disparities in cancer treatment and research include collaborative partnerships and multiple strategies to promote community awareness, education, and engagement. This is especially needed in underserved areas such as the Mississippi Delta where more women are diagnosed at regional and distant stages of breast cancer. The purpose for this project was to increase the relatively low screening rate for African American women in the Mississippi Delta through a partnership between the Mississippi Network for Cancer Control and Prevention at The University of Southern Mississippi, The Fannie Lou Hamer Cancer Foundation and the Mississippi State Department of Health to decrease health disparities in breast cancer through increased awareness on self-early detection methods, leveraging resources to provide mammography screenings, and adequate follow-up with services and treatment for abnormal findings. Through this collaborative effort, over 500 women in three rural Mississippi Delta counties were identified, provided community education on early self-detection, and given appointments for mammography screenings within one fiscal year.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, The University of Southern Mississippi, 118 College Drive #5122, Hattiesburg, MS, 39406, USA. susan.johnson@usm.edu.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6843-7511
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mayfield-Johnson
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, The University of Southern Mississippi, 118 College Drive #5122, Hattiesburg, MS, 39406, USA.
authors.forename: Danielle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fastring
authors.affiliation: College of Business, Delta State University, Cleveland, MS, USA.
authors.forename: Melody
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fortune
authors.affiliation: Mississippi Network for Cancer Control and Prevention, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA.|The Fannie Lou Hamer Cancer Foundation, Ruleville, MS, USA.
authors.forename: Freddie
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: White-Johnson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000628:therapy; D019058:Community Networks; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008922:Mississippi; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: African American women; Breast cancer; Community health workers; Health disparities; Mississippi delta; Underserved