Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cancer Screening on the Hopi Reservation: A Model for Success in a Native American Community

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Community Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

American Indian women have lower cancer survival rates compared to non-Hispanic White women. Increased cancer screening fostered by culturally sensitive education and community programs may help decrease this disparity. This study assesses the effectiveness of Hopi Cancer Support Services (HCSS) in maintaining high rates of breast and cervical cancer screening among Hopi women and evaluates the impact of participation in HCSS programs on colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. A population-based survey was conducted on the Hopi reservation in 2012 (n = 252 women). Frequency of breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screenings, participation in HCSS programs and barriers to screening were evaluated. Unconditional multiple logistic regression estimated the independent effect of the HCSS program on CRC screening. Approximately 88 % of Hopi women 40+ reported ever having had a mammogram; 71 % did so within the past 2 years. Approximately 66 % of women 50+ were ever screened for colorectal cancer (FOBT and/or colonoscopy). Women who had their last mammogram through HCSS were 2.81 (95 % CI 1.12, 7.07) times more likely to have been screened for CRC. Breast and cervical cancer screening continues at a high rate among Hopi women and is substantially greater than that reported prior to the inception of HCSS. Furthermore, participation in programs offered by HCSS  is strongly associated with increased colorectal cancer screening. This tribal health program (HCSS) has strongly influenced cancer screening among Hopi women and is a model of a tribally run cancer prevention program.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Dignan, M. B., Burhansstipanov, L., Hariton, J., Harjo, L., Rattler, T., Lee, R., et al. (2005). A comparison of two Native American Navigator formats: Face-to-face and telephone. Cancer Control: Journal of the Moffitt Cancer Center, 12(Suppl 2), 28–33.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Banner, R. O., Gotay, C. C., Enos, R., Matsunaga, D. S., Hedlund, N., Issell, B. F., & DeCambra, H. (1999). Effects of a culturally tailored intervention to increase breast and cervical cancer screening in Native Hawaiians (pp. 45–55). Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Guadagnolo, B. A., Cina, K., Helbig, P., Molloy, K., Reiner, M., Cook, E. F., et al. (2009). Assessing cancer stage and screening disparities among Native American cancer patients. Public Health Reports, 124(1), 79–89.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Sanderson, P. R., Teufel-Shone, N. I., Baldwin, J. A., Sandoval, N., & Robinson, F. (2010). Breast cancer education for Navajo women: A pilot study evaluating a culturally relevant video. Journal of Cancer Education: The Official Journal of the American Association for Cancer Education, 25(2), 217–223. doi:10.1007/s13187-009-0036-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Robinson, F., Sandoval, N., Baldwin, J., & Sanderson, P. R. (2005). Breast cancer education for Native American women: Creating culturally relevant communications. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 9(6), 689–692. doi:10.1188/05.CJON.689-692.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Canales, M. (2004). Taking care of self: Health care decision making of American Indian women. Health Care for Women International, 25(5), 411–435. doi:10.1080/07399330490438323.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Giuliano, A., Papenfuss, M., Guernsey De Zapien, J., Tilousi, S., & Nuvayestewa, L. (1998). Prevalence of chronic disease risk and protective behaviors among American Indian women living on the Hopi reservation. Annals of Epidemiology, 8(3), 160–167.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Petersen, W. O., Trapp, M. A., Sellers, T. A., Nicometo, A. M., & Kaur, J. S. (2004). Evaluation of a training program to prepare community health representatives to promote breast and cervix cancer screening among Native American women. Journal of Cancer Education: The Official Journal of the American Association for Cancer Education, 19(4), 237–243. doi:10.1207/s15430154jce1904_12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Control. CfD. National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP). 2013. http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/nbccedp/

  10. Giuliano, A., Papenfuss, M., Guernsey de Zapien, J., Tilousi, S., & Nuvayestewa, L. (1998). Breast cancer screening among southwest American Indian women living on-reservation. Preventive Medicine, 27(1), 135–143. doi:10.1006/pmed.1997.0258.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Brown, S. R., Nuno, T., Joshweseoma, L., Begay, R. C., Goodluck, C., & Harris, R. B. (2011). Impact of a community-based breast cancer screening program on Hopi women. Preventive Medicine, 52(5), 390–393. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2011.02.012.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. SAS. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc.

  13. StataCorp. (2013). Stata statistical software: Release 13. College Station, TX: StataCorp LP.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Prevention. CfDCa. (2009). Behavioral risk factor surveillance system survey questionnaire. Altanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/

  15. Schumacher, M. C., Slattery, M. L., Lanier, A. P., Ma, K. N., Edwards, S., Ferucci, E. D., et al. (2008). Prevalence and predictors of cancer screening among American Indian and Alaska native people: The EARTH study. Cancer Causes and Control, 19(7), 725–737. doi:10.1007/s10552-008-9135-8.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Haverkamp, D., Perdue, D. G., Espey, D., & Cobb, N. (2011). A survey of Indian Health Service and tribal health providers’ colorectal cancer screening knowledge, perceptions, and practices. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 22(1), 243–257. doi:10.1353/hpu.2011.0014.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This project was supported by [1] the Comprehensive Minority Institute/Cancer Center Partnership of the National Cancer Institute funded through the University of Arizona-Northern Arizona University Comprehensive [NAU/AZCC Partnership for Native American Cancer Prevention (NACP) 1U54 CA143925-04] and [2] Arizona Department of Health Services, Arizona Biomedical Research Commission [Contract to UA: ADHS 13-031255/Brown (PI)].

Conflict of interest

All authors confirm no conflicts of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, 1295 N. Martin, Tucson, AZ, 85724-5163, USA

    Sylvia R. Brown & Robin Harris

  2. Arizona Cancer Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Sylvia R. Brown, Kathylynn Saboda & Robin Harris

  3. Hopi Department of Health and Human Services, The Hopi Tribe, Kykotsmovi, AZ, USA

    Lori Joshweseoma

  4. Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Human Services and Department of Applied Indigenous Studies, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA

    Priscilla Sanderson

  5. Hopi Cancer Support Services, The Hopi Tribe, Kykotsmovi, AZ, USA

    Delores Ami

Authors
  1. Sylvia R. Brown
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lori Joshweseoma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kathylynn Saboda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Priscilla Sanderson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Delores Ami
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Robin Harris
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sylvia R. Brown.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Brown, S.R., Joshweseoma, L., Saboda, K. et al. Cancer Screening on the Hopi Reservation: A Model for Success in a Native American Community. J Community Health 40, 1165–1172 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-015-0043-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-015-0043-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation