The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #42520

Ximena Somoza, MD, MPH, Kansas Cancer Institute, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Blvd, Kansas City, KS 66160-7312, 913-588-4738, xsomoza@kumc.edu and Cheryl Gibson, PhD, School of Medicine, University of Kansas, 3901 Rainbow Blvd, Kansas City, KS 66160-7830.

The Hispanic community in Kansas has grown by approximately 100 percent from 93,671 in 1990 to 188,252 in 2000, comprising 7% of the total state population (US Census 2000). This explosive growth presents many challenges in meeting the needs for breast cancer education. Elderly Hispanic women are emigrating to the US with little or no knowledge of the importance of life saving breast cancer screening practices. Not only are they challenged by a new language, they also face many barriers to attend educational sessions, frequently providing childcare for relatives or being forced to attend sessions with children. This unique educational program targets both Hispanic children and their grandmothers. The main educational feature of the puppet show is to deliver information on breast health, breast cancer early detection, and on how to access no cost screening services. To monitor the program’s impact, we used several tracking mechanisms, including the number of attendees per session, the number of women who were recruited for screening services at each puppet show, grandmothers who reported that their grandchildren referred them to breast cancer services as a result of watching the show, and the number of store coupon vouchers distributed to elderly women for mammograms. To gain valuable information about our educational efforts, we assessed cancer knowledge gained from the puppet presentations, using pre/post surveys. To guide the design of the puppet presentation, we inquired about suggestions for improvements from the audience and monitored children’s responses to the program.

Learning Objectives:

• List perceived barriers and challenges among elderly Hispanic women to attend breast cancer educational programs that are designed to increase screening rates.
• Identify modifiable determinants highlighted by the study that can be used to guide the design of breast cancer education programs for elderly Hispanic women.
• Describe psychosocial factors associated with developing early cancer education programs for elderly Hispanic women and their grandchildren.

Keywords: Breast Cancer Programs, Hispanic

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.