1. Translating new science into the community to promote opportunities for breast and cervical cancer prevention among African American women.
- Author
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Rodriguez, Elisa M., Jandorf, Lina, Devonish, Julia A., Saad‐Harfouche, Frances G., Clark, Nikia, Johnson, Detric, Stewart, Anika, Widman, Christy A., and Erwin, Deborah O.
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ACTION research , *BLACK people , *CHI-squared test , *CURRICULUM planning , *HEALTH education , *HEALTH promotion , *SCIENCE , *SURVEYS , *T-test (Statistics) , *TUMORS , *COMMUNITY-based social services , *PRE-tests & post-tests , *HEALTH literacy , *DATA analysis software , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *EARLY detection of cancer , *ONE-way analysis of variance ,BREAST tumor prevention ,TUMOR prevention ,CERVIX uteri tumors - Abstract
Background: New evidence has found breast and cervical cancer risk factors unique to African American women. Thus, there is a significant need to increase their knowledge and understanding of relevant risk factors and the potential protective benefits associated with breast‐feeding and HPV vaccination. The National Witness Project is a robust, evidence‐ and community‐based lay health advisor programme that uses group education, navigation and survivor narratives to increase cancer screening among diverse underserved women. Methods: A multi‐phase, community‐based participatory research study was conducted across three sites in Buffalo, NY, New York City and Arkansas between October 2016 and January 2017. Pre‐/post‐test surveys were administered during volunteer trainings and community programmes. An evaluation survey was also administered at the Annual Meeting for Education and Networking. Paired sample t tests were used to compare pre‐/post‐test survey scores. Results: Trainee survey results showed the overall mean per cent correct pre‐/post‐test scores were 47.7% (SD: 21.87) and 79.2% (SD: 16.14). Altogether, 31 educational programmes reached 332 community participants. Participants' breast and cervical cancer knowledge scores were significantly higher after the education programme (84.4%) than before (55.3%) with a mean change score of 29% (P ≤.001). Conclusion: This paper reveals the underlying complexities to update the educational curriculum content of a multi‐site, community‐based outreach organization. The new curriculum significantly improved African American women's knowledge about breast and cervical cancer by 10%‐36%, clearly demonstrating that this information was new to them. The need for education programming in African American communities to disseminate cancer prevention and risk information remains high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
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