A Community Based Approach to Preventing Cervical Cancer
This three-phase project seeks to assess the current state of cervical cancer screening in immigrant communities, explore community knowledge and attitudes related to cervical cancer, and develop community-generated solutions to improve screening uptake. Using a mixed-methods approach, the project examines barriers and facilitators to cervical cancer screening through close collaboration with community partners, ensuring that findings reflect lived experiences and local contexts.
This three-phase project seeks to assess the current state of cervical cancer screening in immigrant communities, explore community knowledge and attitudes related to cervical cancer, and develop community-generated solutions to improve screening uptake. Using a mixed-methods approach, the project examines barriers and facilitators to cervical cancer screening through close collaboration with community partners, ensuring that findings reflect lived experiences and local contexts.
Guided by these insights, community and academic partners will co-design and implement educational and screening interventions. Educational materials will address the fundamentals of cervical cancer and current prevention strategies, including recommended screening and vaccination practices, and will be widely disseminated within Hispanic and Black immigrant communities in Rochester to increase awareness. In parallel, the project will evaluate the feasibility of a community-based screening intervention utilizing newly FDA-approved vaginal HPV self-collection to support screening completion and reduce access barriers.
Funding
Mayo Clinic
Improving liver Cancer Health in Southeast Asian Communities: Closing the gap on liver cancer screening
Liver cancer incidence is increasing more rapidly than any other cancer in the United States, with a disproportionate burden borne by racial and ethnic minority populations. Migrants from East and Southeast Asia face particularly high risk due to chronic hepatitis B virus infection, which can lead to chronic liver inflammation, cirrhosis, and ultimately liver cancer.
Liver cancer incidence is increasing more rapidly than any other cancer in the United States, with a disproportionate burden borne by racial and ethnic minority populations. Migrants from East and Southeast Asia face particularly high risk due to chronic hepatitis B virus infection, which can lead to chronic liver inflammation, cirrhosis, and ultimately liver cancer. In the Midwest—specifically Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin—liver cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among Asians and the third leading cause among Black populations. Across the United States, minority populations experience higher liver cancer incidence, more frequent late-stage diagnoses, lower rates of treatment, and worse overall survival. Despite established screening recommendations for high-risk individuals, screening rates remain especially low in these populations.
Preliminary interviews with Southeast Asian patients with liver cancer revealed limited awareness of asymptomatic hepatitis B infection and its associated silent risk for liver cancer. To better understand barriers to liver cancer screening and treatment across the care continuum, this project will engage patients, community leaders, and healthcare providers through in-depth interviews to identify individual-, community-, and system-level challenges. In addition, the study will examine emerging liver cancer risk factors of concern within immigrant and minority communities by assessing both biological factors (including hepatitis virus genotypes through blood testing) and modifiable behavioral factors through surveys. These assessments will be expanded to other populations experiencing high liver cancer incidence. Together, these efforts aim to identify individuals at greatest risk and inform the development of tailored, multilevel interventions to prevent liver cancer and improve outcomes in these vulnerable populations.
Funding
National Institue on Minority Health and Health Disparities (K23 MD017217-01A1)
Mayo Clinic
Stories for Change La deteccíon temprana puede salvar vidas
Disparities exist in the screening rates for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White populations. Hispanic immigrants and/or individuals who have limited-English proficiency also experience additional vulnerabilities that contribute to this disparity. Culturally tailored interventions are needed to address breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer disparities among this population.
Disparities exist in the screening rates for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White populations. Hispanic immigrants and/or individuals who have limited-English proficiency also experience additional vulnerabilities that contribute to this disparity. Culturally tailored interventions are needed to address breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer disparities among this population.
Stories for Change: La deteccion temprana puede salvar vidas is a digital storytelling intervention aimed to improve breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening rates among Hispanic, Spanish speaking individuals. Storytellers from the Rochester, MN area Hispanic community were invited to participate in a storytelling workshop, facilitated by StoryCenter, to create digital stories related to their own or a loved one’s experience with breast, cervical or colorectal cancer screening.
The next phase for this project is to develop the storytelling intervention which will be pilot tested in the clinical setting.
Publications
Funding
Mayo Clinic
Closing the Gap
Patients with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) have lower rates of cancer screening than their English-proficient counterparts in the United States. Local clinic data in Rochester, Minnesota, mirrors the national trends, with wide disparity gaps for cancer screening among patients with LEP.
Patients with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) experience lower rates of cancer screening compared to their English-proficient counterparts in the United States, a trend reflected locally in Rochester, Minnesota, where significant disparities persist in clinic-based screening rates. Addressing these gaps requires innovative, community-informed approaches tailored to the unique needs of LEP patients. The overall objective of this project is to develop a comprehensive intervention framework for cancer screening that considers patient, provider, health system, and community-level contexts. To achieve this, the first step involves rigorous qualitative research with patients and stakeholders to explore the underlying mechanisms driving screening disparities in this population. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted to (1) examine adult patients’ subjective norms, attitudes, motivations, and structural barriers affecting cancer screening in a primary care setting, and (2) capture the perspectives of non-patient stakeholders—including healthcare providers, medical interpreters, and community leaders—on potential drivers of disparities between LEP and non-LEP populations.
Findings from this qualitative inquiry, combined with practice administrative data and insights from a literature review, will inform the development of a theory-driven framework to guide future interventions aimed at reducing cancer screening disparities in LEP patients. This study represents a foundational step toward the broader goal of designing a multi-modal intervention that integrates patient, provider, health system, and community-level strategies to improve cancer screening access and outcomes among individuals with LEP.
Publications
Funding
Mayo Clinic: Office of Health Disparities Research