Recorded presentation

Julie Darnell, MHSA, MA, Institute for Health Services Research & Policy Studies, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 339 E. Chicago Ave, Room 717, Chicago, IL 60615, 312-503-1548, j-darnell@northwestern.edu, Chih-Hung Chang, PhD, Buehler Center on Aging and Center for Healthcare Studies, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 750 N. Lake Shore Drive, Suite 601, Chicago, IL 60611, and Elizabeth Calhoun, PhD, Institute for Health Services Research and Policy Studies, Northwestern University, 339 E. Chicago Avenue, Room 717, Chicago, IL 60611.

“Reach Out”, one of the 31 CDC-funded demonstration projects under its REACH 2010 initiative, is a Chicago-area collaboration that draws upon 17 African American and Latino churches to mobilize women to seek early breast and cervical cancer screening. It utilizes a faith-related peer-led health education strategy coupled with linkage to cancer screening services. Each church implemented a two-hour standard educational program based on a curriculum developed by professional health educators and lay advocates, and optional strategies, including personal testimonials and pulpit announcements. This study assessed the factors that predict mammography and Pap test screening. Variables guided by the Health Belief Model (susceptibility, seriousness, benefits, barriers, cues to action, self-control/health motivation), knowledge, participation in church-led health education activities, demographics, and access to care were measured. Data were collected from 3,352 women who completed cancer-specific written surveys (1,690 breast; 1,663 cervical) administered to church members following implementation of the health education strategies. Logistic regression analysis reveals that over age 40, cues to action, and self-control/health motivation predicted mammography screening within the past year. Susceptibility, self-control/health motivation, barriers, and cues to action predicted Pap test screening within the past year. For both groups, a significant interaction between knowledge and participation was found, indicating that women who participated in church-initiated education strategies and retained knowledge about breast or cervical cancer were more likely to get screened. Results suggest the importance of ensuring knowledge gains among participants in a health education program to initiate screening.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe a faith-based initiative to reduce ethnic and racial disparities in cancer screening.
• Articulate the factors that predict mammography and Pap test screening.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation