Assessment of a promotora-administered educational prorgram to promote breast and cervical cancer screening in a rural community along the U.S.-Mexico border

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of a promotora-administered educational program to promote breast and cervical cancer screening compliance among post-reproductive age, medically-underserved Hispanic women living in a predominantly rural county along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Methods: Women age 50 or older (n=393) participated in a 2-year follow-up study. Women were randomly assigned into one of two groups, educational-intervention or usual care. Proportions of breast and cervical cancer screening compliance were calculated. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of screening.

Results: Results showed that 67% of the women that participated in the promotora-intervention had a Pap smear within the last year, compared to 51% in the usual care arm (p=0.001). Also, 79% of the women that participated in the promotora-intervention had a mammogram within the last year, compared to 63% in the usual care arm (p=0.001). In the control group, women who had a Pap within the last year were more likely to get a Pap in the U.S. than in Mexico (OR = 1.8; p=0.10). In the intervention group, women who had a Pap within the last year were much more likely to get a Pap in the U.S. than in Mexico (OR = 7.0; p=0.02).

Conclusions: We found that Hispanic women living along U.S.-Mexican Border that participated in the intervention were more likely to report breast and cervical cancer screening compared to those who were in the usual care arm. A promotora-based educational intervention can be used to increase breast and cervical cancer screening compliance among Hispanic women.