Abstract
Although mammography and the Pap smear have significantly reduced US deaths related to breast and cervical cancers, screening prevalence and survival rates for both diseases are disproportionately lower among minority women. This model program outlines techniques for recruiting and training minority women to serve as lay health educators who can effectively deliver preventive health care information to their peers. Lay health educators have three primary functions: to serve as mediators between minority women and health agencies, to establish a social network, and to offer social support. When properly recruited and trained, these educators can bridge the gap between health professionals and the community as well as help health professionals to better understand community and individual concerns about cancer. The goal is to increase the detection, prevention, and treatment of breast and cervical cancers in minority communities and thus decrease related deaths. An ongoing intervention by the Arizona Disease Prevention Center, targeting Yaqui Indian and Mexican‐American women aged 35 and older, illustrates specific elements of the model.
Notes
Public Health Education Specialist, Division of Chronic Disease Control and Community Intervention.
Health Education Specialist, Health Promotion and Training Branch, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control.
Health Scientist, Epidemiology and Statistics Branch, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control; National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia.
Principal Investigator, Project 2: Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening in Older Mexican American Women.
Principal Investigator, Project 1: Pascua‐Yaqui Female Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease; Arizona Disease Prevention Center.