Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved
Volume 27, Issue 4, 2016, Pages 1779-1793

Sowing the seeds of health: Training of community health advisors to promote breast and cervical cancer screening among Latina immigrants in Alabama (Article)

Scarinci I.C.* , Garcés-Palacio I.C. , Morales-Alemán M.M. , McGuire A.
  • a The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Division of Preventive Medicine, Birmingham, United States
  • b The University of Antioquia, Facultad Nacional de Salud Pública, Grupo de Epidemiologia, Medellin, Colombia
  • c University of Alabama, Department of Community and Rural Medicine, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States
  • d The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Division of Preventive Medicine, Birmingham, United States

Abstract

Latinas in the U.S. are disproportionately affected by breast and cervical cancer. This project sought to develop and evaluate a culturally relevant training for Community Health Advisors (CHA) to promote breast and cervical cancer screening among Latina immigrants in Alabama. The Empowerment Model guided training development and implementation supported by a formative evaluation and a Community Advisory Committee. The 16-hour CHA training included two intertwined components: knowledge and skills. Fifty-six (56) Latinas participated in the CHA training in six Alabama counties. The training increased the CHAs’ (1) knowledge of cancer screening and other health topics and (2) their perceived confidence to communicate with women in their communities about cancer screening and to motivate them to attain cancer screenings. This work demonstrates the application of a transformative philosophical framework to promote capacity-building among CHAs toward the development and implementation of strategies to promote breast and cervical cancer screening among Latina immigrants. © Meharry Medical College.

Author Keywords

Cervical cancer Latina immigrants Breast cancer Community health advisors

Index Keywords

Uterine Cervical Neoplasms Emigrants and Immigrants uterine cervix tumor early cancer diagnosis breast tumor Alabama female Humans migrant Early Detection of Cancer Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Hispanic Americans attitude to health human adult Breast Neoplasms public health Hispanic
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84994670349&doi=10.1353%2fhpu.2016.0162&partnerID=40&md5=103d2e8ff0ab43f209f5dfbc5921b43a
DOI: 10.1353/hpu.2016.0162
ISSN: 10492089
Cited by: 5
Original Language: English