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Sustainable Education to Eliminate Disparities (SEED) in breast cancer
African American (AA) women suffer a disproportionate number of deaths due to breast cancer (BC), surpassing rates for all other racial/ethnic groups. The reasons for persistent and worsening BC disparities are multi-factorial and include social, economic, structural, and environmental barriers. Given that AA women are more often diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 40 and before mammography screening guidelines apply, education and community activation promise to generate sustainable solutions to address these disparities.
Methods
Roundtable discussions, conducted at the Stanford Cancer Institute's Annual Breast Cancer and African Americans (BCAA) Conference, revealed gaps in BC informational needs of AA community members. A group of 15 community members were recruited to train as an Ambassador for Change. The Ambassadors participated in 3 workshops: BC basics; media/advocacy and outreach.
Results
Informational needs identified by roundtable participants included stress reduction, healthy eating, and physical activity. A group of 15 women (ages 21-80) trained as Ambassadors. 87% completed all 3 workshops. While there was no self-reported increase in breast cancer knowledge; 30% expressed increased willingness to disseminate breast cancer information in their community; 75% increased their comfort with media advocacy. A breast health resource toolkit and dissemination action plan were jointly developed based on data gathered from the Roundtables.
Discussion/Conclusions
Our academic-community collaboration defined the BC informational needs for Bay Area AA groups. Using culturally-targeted educational workshops, we activated 15 Ambassadors for Change. The Ambassadors will help sustain education to eliminate disparities in BC through supported community advocacy work and cancer information dissemination.
Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programsAdvocacy for health and health education
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Public health or related education
Learning Objectives:
Describe how community engaged approach can increase community capacity for breast cancer advocacy and cancer information dissemination.
Identify culturally-tailored, place-based strategies and materials for breast cancer education.
Keyword(s): Cancer and Women’s Health, Health Disparities/Inequities
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the first-author of this CBPR project and the program administrator primarily responsible for the project's creation, design, and development. I have been involved in the management, coordination, and development of cancer education, information, and training programs in the areas of cultural competency, breast and cervical cancer, cancer control research, and clinical trials for nearly 1 1/2 decades, with a special focus on diverse populations and health 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.