Cultural perspectives of international breast health and breast cancer education.

PURPOSE

To (a) describe teaching-learning strategies to foster cultural exchange among participants in the Train-The-Trainer (TTT) International Breast Health Program; (b) describe participants' perceptions of cultural influences on breast health and breast cancer; and (c) explore lessons learned about cultural influences on breast health TTT educational programs.

ORGANIZING CONSTRUCT

The TTT curriculum was grounded in the belief that nurses can effectively deliver breast health and breast cancer education, that educational programs must be culturally relevant and sensitive to the needs of the target population, and that an urgent need exists worldwide to reduce the burden of breast cancer.

METHODS

A total of 32 nurses from 20 countries participated in three TTT programs held before the biennial meetings of the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care (ISNCC) since 2000, with follow-up by E-mail survey. Narrative descriptions of their perspectives and experiences are reported.

RESULTS

Teaching-learning strategies incorporated cultural values into a TTT program to engage participants in sharing their individual and collective experiences about women with breast cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

Developing countries are increasingly multicultural. Developed countries have large immigrant populations that generally maintain the cultural values and practices about breast cancer from the country of origin. These "lessons learned" are important in planning other educational programs.