Community Breast Health Education for Immigrants and Refugees: Lessons Learned in Outreach Efforts to Reduce Cancer Disparities

Abstract

Community-academic partnerships are vital to address cancer disparities in geographic areas with diverse socioeconomic, language, and cultural barriers. Regarding breast health, immigrant and refugee women are a particularly vulnerable population, with considerably lower mammography rates than most communities, including racial and ethnic minorities. To promote health care equity in this high-risk population, we developed a community-academic partnership (CAP) model to promote breast health education at community faith-based centers in the city of Milwaukee, WI. In this paper, we describe the success of our partnerships, our lessons learned, and future directions.

Relationship between insurance status and outcomes for patients with breast cancer in Missouri

“…This study adds to the ongoing body of research and the public health push for Missouri and other states to consider Medicaid expansion as a protection for their most vulnerable populations 36,37 . Furthermore, with research showing the effectiveness of patient‐focused breast cancer education programs 38,39 and the cost‐effectiveness of funding breast cancer screening programs, 40 furthering efforts to fund screening and education programs can further decrease disparities. In conclusion, this study set out to make a case not only for Medicaid expansion but also for increased funding of breast cancer screening and educational programs.…”

PEARL: A Guide for Developing Community-Engaging and Culturally-Sensitive Education Materials

“…Therefore, when creating materials in other languages, researchers should enlist a native speaker of the language to ensure that the translation accurately reflects the intent of the materials. Previous cancer education research has noted language as a consistent barrier, especially among immigrant populations [50].…”

Change agents in the oncology workforce: Let's be clear about community health workers and patient navigators

“…It is well recognized that scientific advances in cancer care have resulted in increasing complexity in care delivery in the United States, such that populations that were historically marginalized because of systemic racism and social injustice are denied access to timely, quality care—and ultimately suffer higher mortality 1‐9 . To address this pattern of inequity, innovations in care delivery over several decades have focused on linkage programs to support patients who have been socially/economically marginalized in accessing available services in their own communities 10‐20 . Natural helpers , defined as members of the community to whom others naturally turn for help, 21 or change agents , community members who are perceived as making changes in their community, 22 are historically among the most promising approaches for moving toward equitable health care delivery in the United States.…”

“…Natural helpers , defined as members of the community to whom others naturally turn for help, 21 or change agents , community members who are perceived as making changes in their community, 22 are historically among the most promising approaches for moving toward equitable health care delivery in the United States. Such community‐centric individuals have been increasingly integrated into the oncology workforce to assist in linking members of under‐resourced communities with cancer providers and services—bridging the community and clinical settings 12,13,15,16,23‐25 . The scientific literature is now replete with evidence of improvements in care across the continuum, from screening, to diagnosis, to treatment, and into survivorship, in part as a result of these change agents, who strive to increase access to care for the medically underserved 10,11,17,26‐30 .…”