Educational Parties as a Strategy to Promote Breast Health Awareness and Screening in Underserved Female Populations

Nursing professionals involved in institutional and community outreach efforts to improve breast health are experiencing an increasing need for innovative strategies to attract women to participate in early-detection and screening programs. Specifically, many programs have been developed in an attempt to increase participation rates among women in community breastscreening activities or mammography programs (Borrayo, 2004; Bonfill, Marzo, & Pladevall, 2001; Synder et al., 2003). The programs have involved methods such as letters of invitation, educational material by mail, telephone recruitment and follow-up, and educational activities including lectures and video presentations. However, despite such efforts, a need still exists to educate and motivate disadvantaged women (who are affected by health disparities or inequities related to early detection of breast cancer) to engage in breast cancer screening to reduce their risk of mortality resulting from late detection. With this in mind, a program was designed and implemented to meet the needs of underserved and uninsured women residing in a targeted county of New Jersey. The six largest municipalities in Camden County, NJ, are home to 80% of African Americans in the county and 82% of people of Hispanic and Latino ethnicity (Robenolt, 2006). Freda (2004) wrote that the multicultural milieu of the United States mandates that providers consider culture when delivering patient education and services. Multiple factors such as sociodemographics influence healthcare behaviors, interest in learning, and participation in available services. The Camden County Cancer Screening Project (CCCSP) sought a creative way to deliver ethnically based community education about breast health and breast cancer screening. The result was the use of gaming strategies incorporated into a party format to reach the intended comEducational Parties as a Strategy to Promote Breast Health Awareness and Screening in Underserved Female Populations