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Teenage interviewers in underserved populations: a new method of assessing trends in breast cancer screening practices
1 Cambridge Health Alliance, The Cambridge Hospital, Cambridge, MA, and 2 Mount Auburn Hospital, Cambridge, MA
Women of underserved ethnic populations are less likely to undergo breast cancer screening, and the breast cancer mortality rate in black women is 35% higher than that in white women. Accurate data to explain this phenomenon have been difficult to obtain due to inadequate survey completion rates and concerns about inaccurate results of self-reported information. A more innovative approach must be employed to better assess current disparities and identify why they exist. Students from a Boston charter public high school were trained to obtain surveys of breast cancer screening practices among female friends, family members, and neighbors in their own underserved communities. Sixty students obtained 322 completed surveys, reflecting a wide distribution of demographics as well as beliefs regarding cancer screening that is comparable to underserved populations surveyed by other methods. This novel activation of teenagers is feasible and effective in obtaining meaningful information while potentially avoiding limitations of self-reported data. In addition, this approach may facilitate cooperation among physician-researchers, communities, and schools to better assist their underserved populations.
| Commun Oncol 2008;5:416–420 | full text |  154 kb |