The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), in collaboration with individuals and organizations in the region, will host a breast cancer leadership Summit to bring the message of the importance of early detection of breast cancer to the medically underserved populations and/or hard to reach. Health care professionals, especially rural pharmacists and primary care physicians, will be essential in communicating this message, and will also be targeted to receive state-of-the-art recommendations for breast cancer screening and treatment. UNMC faculty and staff will work with individuals representing government, education, health care professions, health service agencies and minorities and the medically underserved to plan and conduct the Heartland Leadership Summit on April 23, 1994. Targeted populations will be persons living in rural areas in Nebraska, western Iowa and southern South Dakota, and minority groups- including Native Americans, African Americans and Hispanics. Unique features of the heartland Summit include the regional (three state area) focus, emphasis on the medically underserved rural and minority populations, and the interdisciplinary approach to post-Summit activities. Additionally, a comprehensive transportation plan is proposed to maximize attendance of persons living in remote rural areas and in Native American reservations. An evaluation of the effectiveness of the Summit in providing information on breast cancer and incentives for women to seek mammography screening will be conducted. A pre-Summit survey will be sent to all persons registered for the Summit to determine their baseline knowledge and attitudes about breast cancer, breast self-exam, and mammography. A post- Summit survey will be administered to all persons registered, whether they attended the summit or not, to determine changes in their knowledge and attitudes of the importance of early detection. screening, and treatment options for breast cancer. A series of ongoing programs will be offered in the region to further communicate the importance of early detection of breast cancer, and to assist current programs in coordinating their breast cancer education and screening efforts. The Summit will be videotaped and edited, and portions will be broadcast on the Educational Television (ETV) networks. Breast cancer education and referral materials will be distributed to a network of 30 rural community pharmacies, which serve as clinical education sites for the UNMC College of Pharmacy, for dissemination to targeted persons. The Cancer Information Service will be used to provide information and education resources on breast cancer on an as-needed basis.
