Marjorie Kagawa-Singer ^1*, Sora Park Tanjasiri ², Annalyn Valdez ³, Hongjian Yu ⁴, Mary Anne Foo ⁵

¹ UCLA School of Public Health and Asian American Studies
² Cal State Univ, Fullerton
³ UCLA - School of Public Health
⁴ UCLA
⁵ Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA)

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mkagawa{at}ucla.edu.

	Abstract

Objectives. We used a community-based research approach to test a culturally based breast cancer screening program among low-income Hmong women in central and southern California.

Methods. We designed a culturally informed educational program with measures at baseline and 1-year follow-up in 2 intervention cities and 1 comparison city. Measures included changes in breast cancer screening, knowledge, and attitudes.

Results. Compared with women in the comparison community, women in the intervention community significantly improved their attitudes toward, and increased their knowledge and receipt of, breast cancer screenings. Odds of women in the intervention group having had a mammogram, having had a clinical breast examination, and having performed breast self-examination was 6.75, 12.16, and 20.06, respectively, compared with women in the comparison group.

Conclusions. Culturally informed education materials and intervention design were effective methods in conveying the importance of maintaining and monitoring proper breast health. The strength of community collaboration in survey development and intervention design highlighted the challenges of early detection and screening programs among newer immigrants, who face significant language and cultural barriers to care, and identified promising practices to overcome these health literacy challenges.

Key Words: Cancer, Health Education, Asians, Screening, Women's Health