A Breast Health (BH) Educational Program to Increase Breast Cancer Awareness among Adolescents and Their Female Relatives in Low-Income Communities Through Intergenerational Learning.

76 Background: Delays in the diagnosis of breast cancer in developing countries are partially related to a lack of knowledge on breast health (BH), particularly in rural communities with poor access to education. We implemented a BH educational program for adolescents from a rural community in Mexico, aimed at increasing knowledge and promoting intergenerational transmission of information from adolescents to their female relatives. Here, we report the results of our feasibility aims, as well as the change in knowledge in the students after the intervention.METHODSIn this pilot study, adolescents enrolled in a public rural Mexican middle school were invited to participate in the program. They received age-appropriate, culturally sensitive sessions from expert educators focused on transmitting BH knowledge in their household. Our primary outcome was satisfaction with the content, with 75% approval needed for the program to be considered acceptable. Pre and post true/false tests to evaluate the students' knowledge were applied. Paired t-test was used to detect changes in knowledge. A p value of < 0.05 was considered significant. Acceptability of the program among the school teachers was assessed.RESULTS238 students were invited to participate, of which 126 (53%) provided parental consent and completed the program. Median age was 13.5 years (12-16). 96% (n = 121) of the students considered the sessions very interesting and 99% (n = 124) thought they either learned "a lot" (66%; n = 83) or "some" (33%; n = 41). The pre- and post-test mean proportion of correct answers was 63% (12.5-100%, SD 0.2) and 89% (25-100%, SD 0.12) respectively. A statistically significant improvement in the proportion of correct answers was found for 5 out of 8 questions. 100% (n = 18) of the teachers thought the intervention was acceptable.CONCLUSIONSOur results show that implementing a BH educational program for rural adolescents in low-income communities is feasible and acceptable, and that such a program can increase their knowledge on BH. Our next planned step is to assess intergenerational transmission of the information to the students' female relatives.