Salud es Vida: A Group-Based, Cervical Cancer Education, Promotora Program

Background: Salud es Vida (“Health is Life”) is a theory-driven, community-based, promotora -delivered cervical cancer screening education and promotion program tailored for Latina farmworker women and delivered to small groups. The intervention provides information and resources on cervical cancer, HPV, and the HPV vaccine.

Methods: A team comprised of researchers, promotoras , nonprofit organization representatives, and graphic designers developed an intervention toolkit, composed of a didactic flipchart, 12-minute animated video, and resources brochure. A two-arm efficacy trial with approximately 160 participants in Southeast Georgia is underway.

Results: Preliminary findings suggest some knowledge deficits about the causes of cervical cancer in the initial baseline sample of intervention and control participants (n=27) of under-screened women (i.e., average knowledge test score = 70%). Scores on a 10-item self-efficacy Likert scale for Pap test completion suggested relatively high self-efficacy (mean = 4.1; SD = 0.6). Further, process evaluation suggests promotoras are motivated to educate women about cervical cancer knowledge, prevention, and screening, as well as address barriers related to accessing health care. Some negative attitudes toward the health department where Latino women receive screenings have been noted.

Conclusion : Peer-led education on cervical cancer prevention is needed for low-income, Latina farmworker women in newer immigrant-receiving areas of the United States. In these regions, there are rarely any Spanish-speaking health professionals to make Latina women comfortable in the health care setting, as well as barriers such as ethnic discrimination, language, service hours and appointment setting rules at the local health department.