Breast care screening for underserved African American women: Community-based participatory approach.
Traditional health promotion models often do not take into account the importance of shared cultural backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences unique to underserved African American women when designing community-based cancer screening and prevention programs. Thus, the purpose of this study was the development, implementation, and evaluation of a community-based participatory research (CBPR) program designed to increase breast cancer screening awareness in an underserved African American population by providing culturally appropriate social support and information. The study includes 357 African American women who participated in the program and completed the 6-month follow-up questionnaire. The program consisted of a 45-minute play, using community members and storytelling to honor and incorporate five different cultural experiences (skits) with breast care and cancer. Overall, findings indicate that the educational intervention was effective. In addition, these findings are consistent with the literature that suggests that educational interventions that include knowledge to alleviate concerns, dispel myths, and create awareness can increase breast cancer screening participation rates. Furthermore, these findings confirm the importance of CBPR in health promotion activities in reducing health and cancer disparities.
a Faculty of Arts and Business , University of the Sunshine Coast , Sippy Downs , Queensland , Australia.
Cindy
C
Davis
b Middle Tennessee State University , Murfreesboro , TN , USA.
Kathleen
K
Darby
c College of Social Work , University of Tennessee , Knoxville , TN , USA.
Matthew
M
Moore
d Simmons College of Social Work , Boston , MA , USA.
Tamara
T
Cadet
e Urban Health Education & Support Services Foundation , Memphis , TN , USA.
Gwendolynn
G
Brown
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research / Q000458:organization & administration*; D054521:Cultural Competency; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012944:Social Support; D013714:Tennessee; D035862:Vulnerable Populations / Q000208:ethnology*
African American; breast cancer; community-based participatory research; prevention; screening