141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

291028
Window of opportunities: The US Mexican consulate and susan g. komen's inspired approach to address breast cancer disparities among Mexican women in the US

Tuesday, November 5, 2013 : 12:45 PM - 1:00 PM

Catherine Oliveros, DrPH, MPH , Global Strategy and Programs, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Dallas, TX
LaToya Stewart, MPH , Community Health, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Dallas, TX
Global diasporas constitute an obvious collective of people through whom networks can be created and individuals mobilized for mutual benefit of both diasporas and the home country. Currently, Komen is piloting a diaspora project with the Consulate General of Mexico. Through its 48 US offices, the Mexican Consulate provides health education and social services to thousands of Mexican born women living in the US on a daily basis. Leveraging the efforts of the Consulate's “Ventanilla de Salud” (VDS) program, Komen is integrating culturally-relevant breast health key messages into the VDS curriculum thereby enhancing current efforts to reach Mexican nationals at the local level, connect them to breast cancer services, and ultimately change their health behavior. The partnership model requires collaborative approaches between the VDS sites and local Komen Affiliate offices to disseminate breast health messages. While increasing the reach of Komen's message, the model also builds organizational capacity of embassy offices and its partners and increases access to direct services such as mammograms and clinical breast exams thereby providing education that leads to action. In Mexico, current talks with the Ministry of Health are setting the stage for implementation of an adapted model in Mexico City leveraging the reach the Ministry has to vulnerable populations through its existing awareness and education efforts. This cross-border approach will be adapted and replicated for other Embassies of the region who will be invited to join the fight and our mission to end breast cancer.

Learning Areas:
Diversity and culture
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
Describe the innovative approach being piloted to deliver culturally-relevant health education to Mexican women and facilitate access to care using a non-traditional collaborative platform. Describe the impact achieved in 4 “Ventanilla de Salud” (Window of Health) pilot sites in the US. Discuss implementation of a comprehensive evidence based domestic national partnership based on lessons learned and best practices obtained during the pilot. Describe plans to implement adapted partnership model in Mexico in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.

Keywords: Breast Cancer Programs, Immigrant Women

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to be an abstract Author on the content I am responsible for because the project being presented is a cross-department collaboration and I am the international lead as Regional Director for Latin America. Additionally, I manage the realitonship with our domestic partner - the US Consulate. My colleague is managing the domestic component of the partnership. We both have extensive public health experience and have collaborated on previous projects focusing on disparities.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.