Evaluation of a Lay Health Adviser Training for a Community-Based Participatory Research Project in a Native American Community

The overall cancer mortality rate for American Indians is lower than the U.S. all-races rate. However, American Indians experience significantly higher mortality rates for some cancers, and incidence and mortality rates are increasing over time for many cancers. The Messengers for Health project, on the Apsáalooke Reservation, is located in southeastern Montana and is focused on cervical cancer. In the United States the mortality rate for Native women with cervical cancer is 1.35 times higher than the women-of-all-races rate. Cervical cancer mortality rates are the highest for Northern Plains Indian women, compared to rates for American Indians across all regions of the United States. Researchers conclude that the data regarding Native American cancer rates are incomplete; there are great regional variations in Native American cancer rates, so prevalence data from a single group cannot be generalized to the population as a whole; and cancer rates for Native Americans look lower than they really are. Messengers for Health is a community-based participatory research (CBPR) project with the objectives of decreasing cervical cancer screening barriers, increasing knowledge regarding screening and prevention of cervical cancer, and increasing the proportion of women receiving Pap tests among Apsáalooke (Crow Indian) women eighteen years old and older. These objectives will be assessed with preintervention and postintervention surveys and secondary data from the Indian Health Service (IHS)