Adolescent leadership initiative to reduce breast cancer health disparities

Building adolescents' leadership to address breast cancer offers important public health benefits. Breast cancer outreach typically targets adult women at ages when screening for the disease is recommended. However, given the development of the disease, it is particularly important for young women to be encouraged to adopt healthy lifestyles and to avoid exposures that increase breast cancer risk. A collaborative initiative pilot tested in Lawrence, Massachusetts, an immigrant community with a 64% Latino population, has demonstrated the capacity of teens to reach large numbers of people and to develop an awareness that will be important to their own futures. An approach in which youth leaders conduct outreach to fellow students, their families, and community facilitated culturally-competent sharing of knowledge about breast cancer, the leading cause of cancer death for Latino women, among otherwise hard-to-reach populations. Youth leaders researched and discussed factors contributing to breast cancer survival disparities in their community. Outreach activities reached over 3,000 youth, and breast cancer awareness content was integrated into health and environmental courses and student homeroom activities for 500 youth. Key messages conveyed in the outreach efforts included the benefits of exercise, healthy diets, avoiding alcohol, and reducing environmental exposures. Teens also assisted family and community members overcome cultural and linguistic barriers to breast cancer screening and care. Evaluation results of knowledge gains and behavior changes assessed through pre and posttests, key informant interviews, school-wide competitions, and demonstrations of competency will be presented.