The development of a community action plan to reduce breast and cervical cancer disparities between African-American and white women

The purpose of this project was to establish a coalition of academic, state, and community-based organizations to develop a community action plan (CAP) to eliminate breast and cervical cancer morbidity and mortality disparities between African-American (AA) and Caucasian women. The project targeted rural and urban low-income AA women in Alabama. Based on the logic model, community capacity building was implemented, followed by the development of a community-driven CAP. For community capacity building, a coalition comprising 12 organizations was established, and a network of 84 community volunteers was formed. Community needs assessments identified 3 levels of barriers to breast and cervical cancer screening: 1) individual, 2) community systems, and 3) healthcare provider. Based on these findings, a community-driven CAP was developed. Our results indicate that a coalition of diverse organizations can partner and develop CAPs to improve the health of their communities.