P.O.W. (Protect Our Women): Results of a Breast Cancer Prevention Project Targeted to Older African-American Women

ABSTRACT

Objective: Encourage older African-American women to participate in breast cancer detection. Breast cancer deaths for older African-American women are higher than for Caucasian counterparts. Effective outreach education about mammography and breast exam is one method to reduce the disparity by encouraging women to enter treatment earlier through earlier diagnosis. Traditional outreach strategies have proven ineffective with this cohort.

Method: In this study we utilized the trust placed in known community leaders to recruit older African-American women to participate in breast health education leading to completion of a mammogram. One hundred sixty-two women were identified as participants.

Results: Seventy-nine percent of the women who completed the project obtained mammograms and 9% had mammograms scheduled at 1-month follow-up, whereas 22% of the individuals who received only mailed educational materials completed mammograms and none had scheduled mammograms pending.

Discussion: Health education for difficult-to-reach populations can be effective but requires greater inclusion of community partners to offset issues related to trust, health beliefs, and access.

KEYWORDS:

• Breast cancer
• African-American women
• prevention
• outreach

This research was supported by the CT Breast Health Initiative.