The Development of the Milwaukee Consortium for Hmong Health: Capacity Building Through Direct Community Engagement

Background. Hmong women experience increased incidence and mortality rates for cervical cancer, yet their cancer risk is often masked by their inclusion within the comparatively low-risk Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) category. Key to this disparity is late stage at diagnosis, a consequence of low rates of screening.

Objectives. This article describes the establishment and community engagement efforts of the Milwaukee Consortium for Hmong Health, established in 2008 to build capacity to investigate and address barriers to screening and cancer care.

Methods. The Consortium facilitated a series of three community dialogues to explore with community members effective ways to overcome barriers to accessing screening and cancer care.

Results. The community dialogues produced a series of six recommendations for action, detailed herein, supported and prioritized by the community.

Conclusions. We posit that the integral involvement of the Hmong community from the outset promoted buy-in of ensuing Consortium education and outreach efforts, and helped to ensure fit with community perspectives, needs, and priorities.