Breast Health Project for Hmong Women and Men
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women, yet AAPI women have the lowest screening rates, in aggregate, of all ethnic populations (only 45% of AAPI women reporting that they have ever had a mammogram). Very little information exists on the breast screening and early detection practices of AAPIs. Although over 57 groups comprise the AAPI category, and they constitute 10.7% of the US population, only seven published manuscripts exist on four groups of AAPI women: Chinese, Vietnamese, Native Hawaiian and Cambodian women. No studies have been published on Hmong breast screening practices, and these women probably have the lowest screening rates of all AAPI women (25.6% ever having had a mammogram).
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 This is the first intervention project that we know of to focus on Hmong women and breast cancer. Our goal is to test a more culturally competent and effective breast health program through two research questions: 1) Will the use of a culturally identified mode of health promotion, the enlistment of husbands and male community leaders, increase the use of breast screening and early detection practices by Hmong women? and 2) What elements of the tailoring process of breast cancer education outreach are required to motivate Hmong women to obtain mammograms compared to other hard to reach populations?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 We will use two innovative strategies in this three-year project to reduce inequities in breast cancer outcomes and disseminate needed information to the community: 1) enlist the support of Hmong men in the community, thereby capitalizing on the cultural strengths of social support and decision making styles and the community's capacities to ensure their well-being, and 2) analyze the successful strategies of other programs in hard-to-reach ethnic minority populations and cross-cultural theoretical constructs in order to identify those culturally specific elements of an educational program that require tailoring for cultural congruence to increase effectiveness, and those universal strategies that could be implemented without change to develop more cost effective health promotion programs in the future.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 No published studies exist on breast cancer early detection practices among the Hmong. Our pilot data indicates that although Hmong women have among the lowest screening rates of any ethnic population in the US, they expressed a desire for more information, a desire to have the men included in education, and a willingness to go for screenings. We know of no published studies in any ethnic group that have used the strategy of enlisting the men or male leaders of sociocentric or familial cultural groups to promote the use of breast screening services for the early detection of breast cancer.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 We will implement the study in three communities: two intervention communities and one comparison community. In year 1, the team will design a culturally based intervention for women and men, develop the educational materials based on our previous BCRP-funded pilot study findings, and conduct baseline assessments of current community practices, screening rates, and breast health resources. In year 2, we will implement the intervention in two communities. And in year three, we will conduct process and impact evaluations, and implement the intervention in the comparison community.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 We hypothesize that there will be significant improvement in mammography, utilization of breast self-exam, and clinical breast exam due to our intervention, and the impact would be that subsequent programs in AAPI populations and other underserved populations could be designed with greater effectiveness and in a more cost effective manner.