Working for a Healthier Community: Fighting Cervical Cancer/Trabajando para una comunidad mas saludable: La Lucha Contra el Cancer Cervico-Uterino

The incidence of cervical cancer for Latina women in the United States is the highest amongst all racial/ethnic groups, almost twice as high as non-Latina white women. Latina women have the 2nd highest mortality rate from cervical cancer (after Black women). Latinas face high mortality rates from cervical cancer as a result of their low rates of cervical cancer screening (Byrd, 2007). While trends in California have shown a decrease in cervical cancer incidence, from 2002-2004, San Diego County reported an 18.5% increase in cervical cancer incidence among Hispanic women (California Cancer Registry).

In Mexico, the rate of invasive cervical cancer is 44.4/100,000 which is one of the highest rates in the world (Giuliano et al., 2001).

The California Office of Binational Border Health, along with collaborative partners, produced a DVD to educate Latina women on the importance of cervical cancer screening and the HPV vaccine. It was designed and written through the perspective of a community health worker/promotora to provide effective culturally-sensitive public health education in Spanish with English subtitles. This DVD has been distributed in partnership with the American Cancer Society to community health worker/promotores networks and community clinics throughout the State of California.

The DVD contains current evidence-based recommendations for cervical cancer screening and the HPV vaccine. It includes information about how to access services; how the Pap- test is performed; recommendations on age appropriate ranges on when to receive the vaccine; testimonials of women about the importance of having regular check-ups; and resources to access health care. The Latina women on the DVD represent diverse age ranges representing the diverse communities in the California-Baja California Border Region.