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Research Articles

Vol. 18 No. 1

A Church-Based, Spanish-Language Community Education Breast Health Program Increases Awareness and Utilization of Breast Diagnostic Services Among Hispanics

  • Gerado Colon-Otero
  • Monica Albertie
  • Judith Rodriquez
  • Garik Nicholson
  • Irina Kolomeyer
  • Alvaro Moreno-Aspita
  • Mary Lesperance
  • Edith A. Perez
Submitted
April 1, 2014
Published
2014-03-31

Abstract

The Mayo Clinic Disparities Program and the University of North Florida Brooks College of Health partnered with representatives of the Hispanic community of Northeast Florida to develop an educational program aimed at raising awareness of the importance of diet in breast cancer prevention and availability of free breast cancer screening. An advertising campaign was followed by church-based seminars on self-examination, screening, and nutrition. Willingness to make dietary changes increased after the seminars, as did Duval County Hispanics’ participation in the Center for Disease Control’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. Data from this pilot study suggest that a Spanish-language, church-based education program, developed as a collaboration between academic institutions and representatives of the Hispanic community, increases awareness of the importance of diet in cancer prevention and of breast cancer screening programs, and may mitigate disparities in breast cancer outcomes among Hispanic women.