The effectiveness in utilizing Chinese media to promote breast health among Chinese women.

To increase the awareness and practice of breast health guidelines, a media-based education campaign on breast health was launched among immigrant Chinese community in San Francisco. The media campaign included airing two public service announcements (PSAs) on Chinese television and radio stations and publishing the same message in Chinese newspapers during 2000. Seven-hundred-ten face-to-face interviews were conducted with women who were recruited from various settings in the city of San Francisco to evaluate the impact of the campaign. Survey participants were asked to describe the content of the PSAs. Having viewed the PSA was significantly associated with the ability to identify all four guidelines (OR = 1.96; 95% CI: 1.35-2.85), knowing how to perform breast self-exam (BSE; OR = 2.25; 95% CI: 1.53-3.29), having performed BSE within the past month (OR = 3.12; 95% CI: 2.05-4.74), and having a clinical breast exam (CBE; OR = 2.98; 95% CI: 1.82-4.90) and mammogram (MAM; OR = 1.97; 95% CI: 1.16-3.36) in the past year. The study findings support that a media campaign utilizing PSAs is effective in improving knowledge of breast health guidelines, teaching Chinese women how to (BSEs), and increasing breast health practices.