The Susan G. Komen® Breast Cancer Education Toolkit for Use With Black and African American Communities was created to support you, as an educator, in providing culturally-responsive breast health and breast cancer education to Black and African American communities.
This Toolkit is intended to help you plan for a single outreach or education event, or help you plan more broadly for your organization’s outreach and education program. It provides educators with information, tips for delivering breast health education to Black and African American communities. It also contains culturally-responsive health promotion strategies for you to use in your own breast health education programs. See below for a visual outline of the entire Toolkit.
Watch the video below or read the Toolkit Overview document to get a more in-depth overview of the Susan G. Komen® Breast Cancer Education Toolkit for Use With Black and African American Communities.
Each section of the Toolkit contains one or two videos like the one above. These videos are supplemental, and are meant to give an overview of each section and the related resources, materials and tools. The same information can be found in the section’s documents.
The “Introduction” video below describes the purpose of the Toolkit, why there is a need for breast cancer education with the Black and African American communities as well as an overview of breast cancer and the Breast Self-Awareness Key Messages. If you prefer, the same overview can be read in the “Introduction” downloadable document below. The “Program Planning Square” video gives you an explanation on how to use this resource to plan your education session.
Introduction | Program Planning Square |
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Who can help?
Everyone can play a role in helping to raise awareness about breast cancer. However, this Toolkit is designed for use by organizations and people that currently conduct, or would like to conduct, breast health education in Black and African American communities. Examples include: health professionals such as nurses, health educators, navigators, community health workers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and others. The user can be someone who identifies as Black or African American, as well as those of other races and ethnicities. Audiences respond best to those they think are most like them, including similarities in race/ethnicity, neighborhood, religion, age, etc., but effective education and support can be provided by those who are deemed “different” as long as communication is culturally-appropriate and respectful.
Included in the Toolkit are:
How can you use the Toolkit?
This Toolkit really is a tool for you to use. It is intended to help you plan for a single outreach or education event, or help you plan more broadly for your organization’s outreach and education program. The Toolkit is divided into four sections that are designed to help you answer the following program planning questions:
Introduction: The educator resource is listed below. Click the document to download.
Section 1: Who is the Audience?
Section 1: Who is the Audience? Educator resources are listed below. Click the documents to download them individually. You may notice some of these resources appear in other sections of the Toolkit. They may apply in various settings, so keep this in mind when downloading resources.
Learning About Your Community:
Breast Self-Awareness Key Messages:
The “Section 2: What is the Message” video below highlights the purpose of knowing the Key Messages and how and which to use in your educational sessions based on audience and time-constraints. Supporting resources for this section will also be discussed. If you prefer, the same section overview can be read in the “Section 2: What is the Message” downloadable document below.
The “Breast Self-Awareness Key Messages” video provides an overview of the four Key Messages: Know your risk, Get screened, Know what is normal for you and Make healthy lifestyle choices. These messages can be used to increase awareness and empower people to take action in order to make informed choices about their health.
Section 2: What is the Message? | Breast Self-Awareness Key Messages | |
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Learning objectives
After reading this section, you should be able to:
Section 2: What is the Message?
Section 2: What is the Message? Educator resources are listed below. Click the documents to download them individually. You may notice some of these resources appear in other sections of the Toolkit. They may apply in various settings, so keep this in mind when downloading resources.
Communicating Your Message:
Breast Self-Awareness Key Messages:
Using Your Educational Messages:
The “Section 3: What is the Venue” video below provides guidance in identifying, selecting and preparing venues for educational sessions. There are also additional supporting resources in this section. If you prefer, the same overview can be read in the “Section 3: What is the Venue” downloadable document below.
Learning objectives
After reading this section, you should be able to:
Section 3: What is the Venue?
Section 3: What is the Venue? Educator resources are listed below. Click the documents to download them individually. You may notice some of these resources appear in other sections of the Toolkit. They may apply in various settings, so keep this in mind when downloading resources.
Planning For Education Sessions and Events:
Using Your Educational Materials:
Section 4: What are the Resources? | Evaluation Materials |
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Purpose of this section
This purpose of this section is to familiarize you with the many resources that are available to help you plan and conduct effective and culturally-responsive breast health and breast cancer education.
Learning objectives
After reviewing this section, you should be able to identify the resources that are available that can help you:
Section 4: What are the Resources?
Section 4: What are the Resources? Educator resources are listed below. Click the documents to download them individually. You may notice some of these resources appear in other sections of the Toolkit. They may apply in various settings, so keep this in mind when downloading resources.
Breast Cancer Information:
Learning About Your Community:
Working with Special Audiences:
Barriers to Trust in the Health Care System:
Communicating Your Message:
Breast Self-Awareness Key Messages:
Planning For Education Sessions and Events:
Leading Education Sessions:
Using Your Educational Materials:
Evaluating Your Program: