A multicultural approach to addressing breast and cervical cancer in New Orleans: Creating the Circle Of Friends For Education and Early-detection (COFFEE)

Introduction: After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleanians faced challenges accessing screening and treatment for breast and cervical cancer. Preventive health became a challenge with both facilities and providers in flux after the storm. New Orleans also became more multicultural, exposing new opportunities for collaboration. The American Cancer Society (ACS) engaged multiple stakeholders from the African-American, Latino and Vietnamese communities create a program empowering community members to teach women about breast and cervical cancer screening and assist women diagnosed with cancer in overcoming barriers to treatment. Methods: University of Alabama Birmingham trained ACS staff in the Community Health Advisors in Action Program (CHAAP) developed for African-American women in the Black Belt of Alabama. ACS convened a group of key stakeholders from the African-American, Latino and Vietnamese communities to replicate and revise CHAAP for a multicultural, urban population. Stakeholders invited community groups to the team and worked to assess three communities in New Orleans for assets and needs. The assessment was used to move from planning to implementation. Discussion: CHAAP showed promise for New Orleans because it drove women into screening through the Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program and increased compliance to treatment among underserved women. As communities became more multicultural after Katrina, replication required tailoring to multiple ethnic groups. Resources needs were identified for access to screening and treatment and a community resource guide was developed. Conclusion: Research programs can be revised to meet the needs of diverse communities if the right partners are identified and engaged in community assessment.