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May 30, 2006

American Indian Women's Health Coalition to Forge New Goals

The Montana American Indian Women’s Health Coalition will meet Friday in Great Falls to finalize a new five-year work plan aimed at reducing breast and cervical cancer among American Indian women.

The meeting will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the LaQuinta Inn, 600 River Drive South.

The coalition was created in 2000 to advise and assist the Breast and Cervical Health Program of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS).  Its overarching goal is to increase the number of American Indian women who are screened regularly for breast and cervical cancer. Over the past five years, the coalition has worked to:

  • Reduce barriers to accessing health-care services, especially among urban American Indian women;
  • Generate understanding of cultural norms and values of American Indian people;
  • Educate American Indian women about preventive care and healthy lifestyles;
  • Reduce fear and denial related to cancer diagnoses; and
  • Develop effective community outreach and education.

“American Indian women have a higher mortality rate from breast cancer than women in other racial groups,” said Charlotte Kelley, American Indian screening coordinator for DPHHS, “and it’s related to the fact that they tend to get diagnosed at later stages. Cervical cancer affects them almost four times as often.

“If we can convince women to get screened regularly for breast and cervical cancer, we can increase the chance that these diseases will be detected and treated early,” she added. “The earlier the diseases are detected, the greater the chance that treatment will be successful.”

The coalition is made up of American Indian women from all seven reservations and five urban Indian health centers in Montana. The members are health-care workers, community volunteers, health educators, cancer survivors, and other interested women. The current leaders of the coalition are:

  • Toni Jo Atchison, Little Shell, Great Falls, president;
  • Patty Boggs, Blackfeet, Butte, vice president; and
  • Philomayne Tucker, Assiniboine, Lodge Pole, secretary.

The coalition has helped DPHHS to form local women’s groups on reservations and in urban Indian centers statewide. The local groups promote and recruit women in their communities to seek and get breast and cervical health screening on a regular basis.

“The number of American Indian women screened for breast and cervical cancer has increased steadily as a result of the coalition’s efforts,” Kelley said. She noted that 56 women were screened through the DPHHS program in 1999, while 404 were screened in 2004.

For more information about the coalition, contact Kelley at 406-444-7858 or ckelley@mt.gov.

Page last updated: 06/13/2006