Open AccessPatnè en Aksyon: Addressing Cancer Disparities in Little Haiti Through Research and Social Action
Author(s) -
Erin Kobetz,
Janelle Menard,
Betsy Barton,
Laurinus Pierre,
Joshua Diem,
Pascale Auguste
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.2008.142794
Subject(s) - miami , participatory action research , community based participatory research , general partnership , indigenous , health equity , ethnic group , immigration , medicine , community health center , gerontology , public health , family medicine , nursing , political science , sociology , ecology , environmental science , anthropology , soil science , law , biology
Haitian women living in Miami, Florida, experience an increased risk of developing and dying from cervical cancer compared with women in other racial/ethnic minority and immigrant groups in the area. In response to this disparity, academic investigators from a local university-based cancer center and community leaders from Little Haiti, the predominately Haitian neighborhood in Miami, created Patnè en Aksyon (Partners in Action), a campus-community partnership. We describe the partnership's effort to document the prevalence of lifetime and routine Papanicolau test use using community-based participatory research methods. Community health workers indigenous to the area recruited participants from various community venues throughout Little Haiti and administered informal, brief interviews to assess their screening practices. The results indicate that Haitian women are underscreened and underscore the importance of community involvement in study implementation.