A study of rural Latino women seeking cancer-detection examinations

The Latino women's breast and cervical cancer screening project, A Day for Latino Women, was a well-organized, collaborative effort between the Catholic community outreach program serving the rural Latino community, the local university, the university nursing program, and a rural-nurse-managed clinic. Eighty-one women were screened at the rural-nurse-managed clinic (TCHC) at no cost. Barriers to access such as the need for transportation, cost, and the need for child care were essentially eliminated to encourage use of the TCHC as a usual site of medical care for this ethnic population. Use of female FNP students attempted to eliminate traditional cultural embarrassment regarding examination by men. Peer relationships and social support for bilingual members of Centro Cuerpo de Cristo Catholic Ministry assisted in promotion and delivery of services to these women.