Effects of a Culturally Sensitive Education in driving South Asian Indian Immigrant Women towards Mammography Screening in New Jersey

Background: Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer and is becoming a major public health issue concern for many South Asian Indian immigrant women. However, women of ethnic subgroups and those who immigrated to the United States within last 10 years are less likely to have had a recent mammogram. Methods: Data was obtained from 102 South Asian Indian immigrant women who were at least 40 years old. Participants were randomly assigned to a video group (n=51) or brochure group (n=51). Pre and post intervention, the participants completed several self-administered surveys which assessed cancer knowledge, perception of cancer fatalism, and mammography screening intention. Results: Participants in the video group had a significant increase (p=.005) in knowledge of breast cancer when compared to the brochure group. However, there was no significant difference between groups on the cancer fatalism scores. When assessed 3 months post intervention, the video group had a 62% participation rate in mammography screening, while the brochure group only had a 23% participation rate. Conclusion: This is the first research study conducted which evaluated the effects of breast cancer education on knowledge of breast cancer among the South Asian Indian immigrant women. This is also the first study to use a culturally sensitive tools tested on South Asian Indian immigrant women. Culturally sensitive learning experiences increases knowledge and intention to seek mammography screening and thus positively impacts overall health management in South Asian Indian immigrant women.