KinKeeper

The Kin KeeperSM Model

The Kin KeeperSM Cancer Prevention Intervention was developed by Principle Investigator Karen Patricia Williams, Ph.D at Michigan State University in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. The Kin KeeperSM Cancer Prevention Intervention is a female-family focused educational intervention for medically underserved women applied in a real world setting, using a randomized control trial design. The Kin KeeperSM model uses synergy and natural communication that exists among female family members to increase cancer prevention education and screening, which translates into functional cancer literacy. By combining a community based approach with an university-community partnerships as well as health services research methodology, the Kin KeeperSM model has the ability to be sustainable model to impact breast and cervical cancer disparities among medically underserved women. The primary focus is on breast and cervical cancer screening among Black, Latina, and Arab women living in the United States Training Community health workers from various public health programs are cross trained in breast and cervical cancer prevention and control using the Kin KeeperSM Curriculum Guide and Workbook© With the support of her supervisor the community health worker’s role is twofold. She recruits women from her public health case load and delivers the education intervention to the research participants. She receives a going support from her supervisor. (Williams et al cancer ed 2009)1 Instruments Community health workers orally administer various instruments that have been culturally and linguistically translated, like the Breast and Cervical Cancer Literacy Assessment Tools©. ((JMPH, 2008; JCE, 2007, 2009; HER, 2009)2-5 Regardless of an individual’s ability to read, she is able to follow the community health worker and individually answer the question without assistance. Home Visits After recruiting and consenting women, the community health worker arranges home visits with each new research recruit, known as the kin keeper. (HER, 2008; JSM, 2009)5,6 The kin keeper invites her adult female family members to her home to participate in active learning regarding breast and cervical cancer prevention and control. In a relaxed environment, their language of choice, families learn about: screening guidelines; what to expect at the clinic; how to engage health care providers; their individual and familial risks and more to assist them to be functionally cancer literate.

Personal Action Plan Following the second home visit the community health worker uses the standardized personal action plan to assist individual family members to set screening goals. Every six months the individual and the community health worker review the personal action plan for goal achievements.

Karen Patricia Williams (link) (will be created as a sub-article after I create the main article) Dr. Karen Patricia Williams is an associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics Gynecology & Reproductive Biology in the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University. Her area of expertise is in community-based participatory research, health services research and women’s health policy. Understanding the need for medically underserved women to take an active role in their health, Dr. Williams designed the Kin KeeperSM Cancer Prevention Intervention.

References

1. Williams, K.P., Mabiso, A., Jackson, T., Lawshe, D., Maurer, J. Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program Enrollees Inform Kin KeeperSM Curriculum. Journal of Cancer Education. 24(4):257-260, 2009.

2. Williams, K.P., Reckase, M., Rivera-Vazquez, O. Toward the Development of Cancer Literacy Assessment Tools. Journal of Michigan Pubic Health. 2(1):21-31 2008.

3. Williams K.P., Mullan P.B. Fletcher F. E. Working with African American Women to Develop cancer Literacy Assessment Tools. Journal of Cancer Education. 22:241-244, 2007.

4. Rivera-Vasquez, O., Mabiso, A., Hammad, A., Williams, K.P. A Community-Based Approach to Translating and Testing Cancer Literacy Assessment Tools. Journal of Cancer Education. 24(4):319-325, 2009

5. Williams, K. P., Mullan, P.B., Todem, D. Moving from Theory to Practice: Implementing the Kin KeeperSM Model. Health Education Research. Advanced Access May 29, 2008.24(2);343-356, 2009.

6. Todem, D., Williams, K.P., A Hierarchical Model for Double Exchangeable Binary Data with Dependence between the Success Probability. Statistics in Medicine.28:2967-2988, 2009. SM