AMIGAS

AMIGAS is a bilingual educational outreach program. It is proven to be effective in promoting cervical cancer screening among Hispanic women and Latinas ages 21 to 65. This program is important because Latinas are less likely to be screened for cervical cancer than non-Hispanic White women in the United States. Latinas also have higher rates of developing and dying from cervical cancer compared to non-Hispanic White women.

AMIGAS stands for “Ayudando a las Mujeres con Información, Guía y Amor para su Salud.” In English, this means “Helping Women with Information, Guidance, and Love for their Health.” AMIGAS is designed to help community health workers or other lay health educators increase cervical cancer screening among Latinas who have rarely or never been screened.

AMIGAS helps women understand—

• That a Pap test can find changes in the cervix before they turn to cancer.
• That a Pap test can find cervical cancer early, when treatment works best.
• That a human papillomavirus (HPV) test looks for the virus that can cause cell changes on the cervix that can lead to cervical cancer.
• Current cervical cancer screening recommendations.
• Where and how to get a cervical cancer screening test.
• Why they should commit to an action plan to get screened for cervical cancer.

AMIGAS is composed of three sections—