Family Health Centers of Southwest Florida, Inc
The Women SHINE Project, initiated by Family Health Centers of Southwest Florida, educates women and men on breast health advocacy, in venues that reduce specific barriers to care: healthcare cost, transportation, and primary language other than English. The Project team is comprised of a Project Director, case manager, and four community health workers. The Women SHINE Project offers multilingual workshops at various location throughout Lee, Charlotte and western Hendry counties for economically challenged, ethnically diverse residents. With 1,250 women as the educational goal and a 75% post-education questionnaire success rate target, The Women SHINE Project empowers individuals to seek early diagnosis and treatment. The Women SHINE Project is unique in delivering education to the priority population where they receive health care and offering needed case management services to ensure entry into and support in the continuum of care. The project evaluates success through SMART goals, tracking the number of women educated, questionnaire results, and referrals for services. Data collection is time-bound and reported periodically to assess progress. The project empowers women and men to advocate for their breast health, leading to earlier diagnosis and treatment. The project team provides education, case management, and referrals for services, positively impacting the community. The 6-month goal is for 625 women to receive education and score 75% or above on post-workshop questionnaires. The 12-month project evaluation includes all 1,250 women and statistics on location of education, ages of participants, and scores. Internal monthly, quarterly semi-annual, and annual reports detail education provided, referrals, collaborative partners and patient outcomes. Continuous review guides project refinement for effective navigation and support.
Community Health Center of West Palm Beach
The Community Health Center of West Palm Beach (CHC, the Center) is requesting continued funding support of its part time Community Health Worker/Patient Navigator (CHW/PN), who provides CHC patients with in-depth breast health education to increase the number of Center patients who receive navigation services and reduce deaths due to late-stage breast cancer. The CHW/PN’s primary function is to provide CHC patients (both male and female) with one-on-one and small group breast health education so that they can become proactive advocates for their own breast health outcomes. Ancillary benefits include guiding patients through the health care system, assisting with access issues, and tracking interventions and outcomes. By increasing the time focused on the breast health education of CHC's clients, the Center helps individuals to better take control of their own health, eliminating barriers to access for health care, and increasing the number of CHC patients who enter, stay in, or progress through the continuum of breast health services.
Sharsheret
Breast cancer and ovarian cancer, once viewed as secular health concerns, are increasingly recognized as heightened health issues for Jewish women and families. 1 in 40 Jews of Ashkenazi descent carries a BRCA gene mutation, compared to 1 in 400 in the general population, making Jewish families significantly more susceptible to hereditary breast, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, and male breast cancer, and melanoma. Young Jewish students need to be made aware of their increased risk for hereditary cancer and the proactive measures they can take to protect their health. Many have heard BRCA identified as “the Jewish gene,” but few have an understanding about how this particular genetic mutation could impact them directly. Starting breast cancer risk education early is imperative to empower at-risk populations to proactively protect their health before diagnosis, and to detect cancer in the early stages when it is easier to treat or even cure. Sharsheret on Campus is a tailored awareness and education initiative that empowers Jewish students to learn about cancer genetics,hereditary cancer, and proactive measures that can be taken toward good health and wellness. Sharsheret has found time and again that early education leads to life-saving family conversations and behaviors that have a lasting impact. The goal of Sharsheret on Campus in Florida is to educate Jewish high school, and college students about their increased risk of hereditary cancer due to genetic mutations such as BRCA mutation as well as how they can learn about their own genetic profile, the actions they can take to protect their health and the impact of breast cancer and ovarian cancer on the Jewish community . Sharsheret’s Florida Team of community health educators and social workers will identify 4 campuses where experiential and educational breast cancer awareness events will be executed during the grant period, reaching between 500-1000 students.
Rural Women's Health Project Inc.
The Rural Women’s Health Project (RWHP) is a health justice nonprofit, serving Alachua, Columbia, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Levy, Marion, and Suwannee counties. Our mission is to work with communities to sustainably strengthen their capacity to overcome health barriers. While our work has traditionally focused on Latinx immigrants and farmworkers, we have expanded to address health justice issues in Mayan Indigenous and Haitian communities. The Creando Nuestra Salud project will increase access to mammogram services across medically underserved communities in North Central Florida and provide education on breast health awareness. The project will consist of engaging the RWHP’s 5 Promotores de Salud (Community Health Workers) and 8 Comunicadoras (Messengers) who serve Spanish and Haitian Creole speakers. The Promotores will share key health information for bimonthly campaigns that consist of interactive educational sessions, distribution of educational materials developed in-house, connection with our Project SALUD Referral Service (for additional support medical and services), linkage to three mammography events for qualifying individuals as well as the collection of demographic data.
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Inc
Education about cancer prevention and screening is an effective way to improve cancer mortality rates. To that end, Moffitt has developed a prevention and early detection program focused on healthy lifestyles, genetic risk factors, and the importance of regular screening. Moffitt’s catchment area includes high rates of uninsured (16%) and underinsured individuals who face additional health barriers including financial insecurity, low health literacy, and lack of resources. These populations experience significant disparities in cancer outcomes, much of which is due to a lack of prevention education, screening, early detection, and access to quality healthcare services. A tremendous need exists to offer culturally sensitive and accessible breast health education, low/no-cost mammography screening and treatment, and navigation services during the continuum of care for those diagnosed with breast cancer. Moffitt is committed to improving health outcomes for these women: providing vital breast health education on a regular basis to ensure regular screenings for early detection and promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors to reduce the risk for breast cancer, assessing barriers to breast cancer screening, and providing access to no-cost mammography and quality healthcare. The goal of the Moffitt Breast Cancer Education and Outreach program is to increase health literacy among underserved populations and empower individuals to engage in activities that lead to better health outcomes. With funding from the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation, Moffitt will meet the following objectives: - Conduct three culturally relevant education events, one in each of the three target counties: Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Osceola. - Partner with 3D Mammography mobile unit to provide on-site screenings to eligible participants in Osceola County. - Engage at least 50 individuals at each event, defined as attendance and completion of post-event survey.
Health Education Prevention and Promotion Inc
Health Education Prevention & Promotion, Inc. (HEPP) is committed to reducing health disparities, and dedicated to changing and saving lives through education, screening, and support. HEPP provides education in both English and Creole. A focus area is breast cancer due to evidence of late-stage diagnosis of cancer, disproportionate breast cancer mortality rates and lack of culturally appropriate information on cancer among Haitians. HEPP’s community and faith-based comprehensive breast cancer awareness and education program seeks to improve beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, screening, and treatment behaviors among medically underserved, low literacy and linguistically isolated Haitian men and women living in Miami-Dade and Broward County. This unique program will aim at improving screening mammography among the target population who when compared to other racial/ethnic minorities and immigrants in Miami and Broward are more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer when the prognosis for survival is poor. This disparity likely reflects mammography underutilization. Other reasons include lack of insurance and lack of information especially among newly migrated Haitians. The classes will be intergenerational inviting young women, mothers, and grandmothers to come together to learn as rates of breast cancer among young women are alarmingly high. The program will empower Haitian women to take charge of their breast health. HEPP has partnered with BCCEDP, YWCA and FIU mobile Mammography among a few to assist women who attend HEPP classes to get screened for free or low cost. Haitian women with breast cancer identified through outreach or HEPP breast cancer navigation program will be encouraged to join the HEPP Support for Haitians with cancer for education and support on living with and after breast cancer.
Big Bend Rural Health Network
Accessing comprehensive breast cancer education in rural and underserved areas presents challenges due to limited resources and socioeconomic factors. Data reveals that individuals in the service region of the Big Bend Rural Health Network (BBRHN), encompassing Jefferson, Taylor, Madison, Gadsden, Wakulla, and Leon County, encounter obstacles like reduced mammogram rates, delayed diagnoses, and higher breast cancer mortality rates compared to state averages. To tackle this issue, BBRHN intends to expand the "We Are One" breast cancer awareness campaign to educate vulnerable populations on breast health and self-empowerment. By providing insights on risk factors, preventative measures, and early detection, the initiative equips participants with knowledge. Through collaboration with partners, BBRHN aims to host four educational seminars reaching approximately 200 individuals, particularly targeting young adults to instill healthy breast practices early on. The project evaluation will incorporate a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches, with outcomes shared with stakeholders for further understanding.
Premier Mobile Health Services Corporation
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women (National Cancer Institute, 2024). Last year, 2023, there were an estimated 297,790 new cases of breast cancer detected, and an estimated 43,170 deaths (Cancer.gov, 2024). Although it is rare, men are also susceptible to this horrible disease. We work to raise awareness, provide screenings, and teach individuals the importance of breast health and self-awareness. We discuss how to become breast self-aware and teach what is normal for ones own breasts. We teach ways to reduce the risk of breast cancer, and the importance of screening and early detection. We discuss the various stages of breast cancer and breast self-advocacy, and collaborate with other agencies such as United Way’s WeCare and Lee Health to obtain further assistance if there is a positive cancer diagnosis. It is our mission to provide access to quality healthcare services to the medically vulnerable and those at most risk of developing and experiencing long-term illnesses and hospitalization. We provide quality primary care, disease prevention, education and health advocacy to the underserved and underinsured of all races, ethnicities, religions, and lifestyles without stigma or prejudice. We give a voice to those who have felt they have no voice or anyone who will listen to them. We are passionate about teaching others and providing support through our dedicated staff or through a partnering agency.
Watson Clinic Foundation
The Watson Clinic Foundation is continuing its Breast Cancer Survivorship Series, transitioning the name to Connections in Survivorship to more accurately reflect the program's intent. It will transition to three annual workshop series' that aim to provide educational and supportive experiences for survivors of breast cancer. The series focuses on providing information and education on breast cancer survivorship, resources for coordinated survivorship care plans, and supportive experiences through the arts, using community partnerships. The series aims to empower patients by providing healthy lifestyle options and supportive care to meet their ongoing needs. It transitions the traditional model of standard support groups to be more informative and experiential while still allowing for connections between survivors who have experienced similar journeys. The workshops are three times each year, with each series consisting of four meetings, including one informational workshop delivered by a Watson Clinic physician and three experiential supportive workshops. Each meeting provides resources for different types of support and discusses the benefits of care plans. By partnering with local organizations, participants are led by subject matter experts and can try different healthy and supportive activities without long-term commitments, and assimilate more easily into a healthy lifestyle beyond the workshop period. The Survivorship Connection Series aims to provide a comprehensive and holistic approach to breast cancer survivorship, addressing the ongoing needs of patients with the goal of promoting empowerment, a healthy lifestyle, and community connection.
Octavia Health Inc
This project will be increase the knowledge and access to care to reduce the health disparity through a multilingual education strategy to the Minorities Communities, uninsured and low income black African American, Haitians and Hispanic/Latino population in Palm Beach County about the importance of early detection, annual screenings, identifying risk factors, to engage them in self-monitoring of their breast health and link direct to the free screening available at palm beach County. We will organize and conduct educational workshops and interactive classes that are culturally sensitive and educationally appropriate to address the language and educational barriers of these communities in collaboration with community organizations that serve the target population. We will also hold two annual meetings for survivor patients and families to educate about wellness during cancer diagnosis, treatment and life after cancer and create a survivorship advocate group.
Glimmer of Hope Foundation Inc
The goal of this project is to educate Caribbean and Hispanic women in our community in the importance of breast cancer early detection and screenings. Participants of the program will receive referrals to services to one of our program partners, they will also receive follow-up to needed services. Outreach and education will be conducted in the languages of the different target population.
Tampa General Hospital Foundation
Tampa General Hospital, renowned for its commitment to comprehensive cancer care understand the there is a challenge in meeting the psychological needs of breast cancer survivors across the nation. In response, our five-session group intervention program led by our psychological team. This initiative, to be implemented at the TGH Cancer Institute, focuses on providing breast cancer survivors with essential coping tools and empowering them towards wellness as they begin a new chapter. The evidence-based program aims to maximize overall well-being, enhance coping mechanisms, and eliminate barriers to support. With a goal to conduct four sessions both virtually and in-person annually for intimate groups of 10 survivors each, the program aligns with TGH's mission to deliver high-quality clinical care and addresses a critical gap in psychological services for breast cancer survivors. This innovative educational endeavor at TGH seeks to not only meet the immediate demand for mental health support but also contribute valuable insights to the broader landscape of survivorship programs.
Latinos Unidos por un Nuevo Amanecer
With each transition in the cancer experience, people might experience difficult emotions and uncertainty. When the cancer treatment is complete and the person is in remission, they may be feeling the cumulative effects of treatment, such as fatigue, pain and numbness. They may have experienced big losses: a part of their body, their role in the family, their job, or their sense of stability and security. People who are cancer survivors cope with a range of physical, emotional or psychological issues and social issues. Cancer survivorship helps people learn to live with those life changes and may improve their quality of life and wellbeing after breast cancer. The program: Retaking Control of your Life when in Remission (Retomando Control de tu Vida Durante la Remisión) will provide education and hands-on intervention to 35 Latino breast cancer survivors from Hillsborough County in Tampa, Florida. The goal is to offer health education and a variety of self-care techniques to improve the quality of life and wellbeing after cancer treatment. The main objective of this program is to enhance their ability to cope and to empower them to regain a sense of control by offering education on topics relevant to survivorship. This will be accomplished by providing 4 empowering intervention group sessions with a variety of topics, educational activities, and practicing self-care holistic techniques in an environment culturally familiar to the Latino Community. The educational empowering sessions will focus on Caring for your Breasts, How to Master your Emotions, Healing your Self-Image after Breast Cancer, Intimacy after Breast Cancer, Reintegration into the Labor Market after Breast Cancer, Healthy Eating on a Budget, Building Skills to endure Hardship after Breast Cancer and Embracing My New Me. The Self-Care Holistic Interventions will include: Yoga, Meditation, Circular Dances & Grounding, Sound and Vibrational Therapy (Crystal Bowls) and Somatic Corporal Movement.