BACKGROUND Community participation was a key component of a cancer control research project in a Native Hawaiian community. This project tested the effectiveness of a culturally appropriate intervention as a means of increasing breast and cervical cancer screening practices among Native Hawaiian women on the Wai'anae Coast of the island of O'ahu. METHODS The Wai'anae Cancer Research project was community driven, with Native Hawaiian community representatives involved in all phases of the project, from grant proposal development to data interpretation. A community health center administered the grant award from the National Cancer Institute. The policy‐making steering committee included community representatives, health professionals, and researchers to balance community and scientific quality standards. A factor in the project's success was continuous involvement over 7 years by a core of community representatives and professional staff. RESULTS More than 500 women participated in the intervention, and outcome measures indicated that there was a community wide impact on cancer‐related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Important contributions of the project also included direct economic benefits, improvements in health services and systems, increased research capabilities, and dissemination of findings to other communities and researchers. CONCLUSION Community participation in all phases of the research was essential in generating community acceptance and resulted in an innovative and effective intervention. This participatory research project has left the community richer in knowledge, skills, experience, confidence, and resources. These qualities provide a strong foundation for building future programs and research. Cancer 1996;78:1582‐6.
BACKGROUND. Community participation was a key component of a cancer control research project in a Native Hawaiian community. This project tested the effectiveness of a culturally appropriate intervention as a means of increasing breast and cervical cancer screening practices among Native Hawaiian women on the Wai'anae Coast of the island of O'ahu.
BACKGROUND.Community participation was a key component of a cancer control research project in a Native Hawaiian community. This project tested the effectiveness of a culturally appropriate intervention as a means of increasing breast and cervical cancer screening practices among Native Hawaiian women on the Wai'anae Coast of the island of O'ahu. METHODS.The Wai'anae Cancer Research project was community driven, with Native Hawaiian community representatives involved in all phases of the project, from grant proposal development to data interpretation. A community health center administered the grant award from the National Cancer Institute. The policymaking steering committee included community representatives, health professionals, and researchers to balance community and scientific quality standards. A factor in the project's success was continuous involvement over 7 years by a core of community representatives and professional staff. RESULTS.More than 500 women participated in the intervention, and outcome measures indicated that there was a community wide impact on cancer-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Important contributions of the project also included direct economic benefits, improvements in health services and systems, increased research capabilities, and dissemination of findings to other communities and researchers. CONCLUSION.Community participation in all phases of the research was essential in generating community acceptance and resulted in an innovative and effective intervention. This participatory research project has left the community richer in knowledge, skills, experience, confidence, and resources. These qualities provide a strong foundation for building future programs and research. Cancer 1996; 781582-6. 0 1996 American Cancer Society.KEYWORDS: culture, ethnic groups, community health services, health promotion, breast neoplasms, cervix neoplasms.ancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Native Hawai-C ians. Based on Hawaii Tumor Registry data, Native Hawaiians have the highest cancer mortality rates and are second only to whites in overall cancer incidence.' With respect to specific cancer sites, this disparity is even more striking. For example, Native Hawaiians are more than three times as likely to die of breast cancer than women of Japanese ethnicity.' This disparity in survival rates is due, in part, to the fact that Native Hawaiian patients are diagnosed at a more advanced stage than patients of other ethnicities.' These statistics support the need for programs to promote cancer screening for Native Hawaiians.
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