A breast health educational program for Chinese-American women: 3- to 12-month postintervention effect.

Purpose: To test the efficacy of a culturally targeted breast cancer screening educational program in increasing mammogram completion in Chinese-American immigrant women.

Design: Randomized controlled study.

Setting: Chinese communities, Portland, Oregon.

Subjects: From April 2010 to September 2011, 300 women were randomized to receive a theory-based, culturally targeted breast cancer screening educational intervention (n = 147) or a mammography screening brochure published by the National Cancer Institute (n = 153).

Intervention: The two-part intervention consisted of group teaching with targeted, theory-based messages followed by individual counseling sessions.

Measures: Mammography completion, perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, perceived cultural barriers, and demographic variables.

Analysis: A 2 × 3 mixed logistic model was applied to determine odds ratio of mammogram completion.

Results: Behavior changed in both groups, with a total of 170 participants (56.7%) reporting a mammogram at 12 months. The logistic model indicated increased odds of mammogram completion in the intervention compared to the control group at 3, 6, and 12 months. When controlling for marital status, age, and age moved to the United States, the intervention group was nine times more likely to complete mammograms than the control group.

Conclusion: The culturally targeted educational program significantly increased mammogram use among Chinese immigrant women. Further testing of effectiveness in larger community settings is needed. The intervention may also serve as a foundation from which to develop education to increase cancer screening among other minority subgroups.