The lack of health care among Latinos has put the Latino community in a devastating predicament because it does not have the necessary tools to prevent or aid its population from the disease that has constantly plagued them. With this in mind, it is absolutely essential that culturally sensitive programs are instituted to address the different circumstances encountered by Latinos so that the spread of cancer can be stopped from further devastating the Latino community.
Cultural insensitivity has always been evident in the screening and early detection programs established for cancer patients. It is truly displeasing to see this insensitivity mainly because regular screening may save thousands of lives by detecting the disease at an early stage, when treatment is most effective. The distribution of pap smears is a perfect example of a screening program that is culturally insensitive. Using NHIS data, Harlan et al. found that Latinos who speak only or mostly Spanish were the least likely to have received a pap smear within the past three years (Molina 235). Thus showing that this vital screening process lacks the essential cultural sensitivity to help Latinos fight cancer. Other data shows that Latino and African American women are almost three times more likely than Anglo women to have never heard of a mammography (Molina 235). Among these Latino women who never got a mammogram, 34 percent said their main reason for not getting one was the high cost (Molina 235). Of those women who did get a mammogram, only 24 percent were Latinas (Molina 235). These Latinas agreed that the major reason why other Latinas did not get mammograms was based on the high cost (Molina 235). Obviously, culturally sensitive health programs are also needed to help understand the different socioeconomic levels of all Latinos.
Fortunately, culturally sensitive health programs have come about in recent years. These promotional programs have traditionally targeted Latinos in the school system and in the barrio. A good example of a school based promotional program was the one used by New York City schools in the late 1980's (Molina 239). It was a 15 unit learning skills training curriculum that was out to deter smoking (Molina 239). It talked about issues such as, myths and realities of smoking, self efficacy, decision making, independent thinking, advertising, social skills, and assertiveness training (Molina 239). The thing that made this program so phenomenal and unique was that it focused on life skills training rather than on the health risks of smoking.
Another smoking prevention program, which targeted inner city Puerto Rican youth and their families, was implemented during the same time period in Hartford and Boston (Molina 239). The researcher collected smoking prevalence data among the group and used it during their later periods of the program for audiovisual materials (Molina 239). The program included community support efforts for smoking prevention among the youth, refusal skills, parent meetings for project media dissemination, and the running of counter advertising ads against cigarette advertising (Molina 239-240). Once again this program was special because it primarily focused on life skills training rather than on the health risks of smoking.
A great example of a community based program was the A Su Salud program which was run in the southern part of Texas and still continues. At a national level the National Cancer Institute is another great resource that concentrates on everyone, unlike A Su Salud program. A Su Salud program targeted impoverished Latinos in several South Texas border communities (Molina 240). Political and social Latino leaders were used to educate the Chicanos on positive health behaviors to prevent cancer (Molina 240). These behaviors included smoking relief efforts, use of prevention checkups, healthy nutritional and exercise habits, and reducing alcohol consumption (Molina 240). In addition, the program used peer networkers to reinforce health campaign messages and to mobilize the community (Molina 240).
Yet, another excellent community based program is the Laredo Buena Vida Project, which came about in the early 1990's and has targeted Chicanos with low socioeconomic status (Molina 240). Its main goal is to reach out a helping hand to those Chicanos who live in the barrios of Texas in any way possible. Within this project, a local action committed of community leaders was established, and shortly after its creation it developed an agenda which labeled obesity, stress, lack of exercise, and alcohol abuse as key health issues for all Latinos (Molina 240). The committee then recruited, and continues recruit, volunteers to address these issues all throughout Texas to get cultural sensitivity for the health plight of Chicanos in Texas (Molina 240). Finally, the American Cancer Society in El Paso has developed English and Spanish scripts for teatros on cancer and disease prevention (Molina 240).
All in all, it has become evident that the adoption of culturally sensitive programs is essential to containing the problems of cancer in the Latino community. This need becomes even more important to meet when we take into consideration that Latinos have low health coverage and what is often called high risk factors for acquiring cancer. Fortunately, culturally sensitive programs have recently emerged to address most of these high risk factors.
| This web page was developed by Ivan Chaidez to fulfill a requirement of the class CHI 21: Health Issues in the Chicano/Latino Community taught by Seline Szkupinski Quiroga in the Chicana & Chicano Studies Program at the University of California at Davis, Fall 1998. |