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AMIGAS

AMIGAS logo

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 a bilingual educational outreach intervention designed to help promotoras (community health workers) and other lay health educators increase cervical cancer screening among Hispanics who have rarely or never had a Pap test. CDC funded a randomized controlled trial that showed AMIGAS is effective in promoting cervical cancer screening (Pap tests) among Hispanics between ages 21 and 65 years.

AMIGAS is important because Hispanics have a high incidence of cervical cancer.

AMIGAS was—

  • Designed for use in a variety of settings, including those with lower resources.
  • Developed in conjunction with the community.

AMIGAS is a proven health education model that—

  • Is built on the recommendation from the Community Preventive Services Task Force that one-on-one education increases Pap test use.
  • Works with women who are experienced promotoras in their communities to deliver the education.
  • Stresses how information and skills learned in the intervention will help women, their families, and their communities stay healthy.
  • Provides culturally appropriate bilingual information.
  • Uses naturally occurring social networks to recruit women.

Contact Us

Do you have questions about AMIGAS or success stories to share? Tell us how you are using AMIGAS in your community! Please send us an e-mail.

AMIGAS contains several components, including—

  • Administrator’s Guide: A booklet to help administrators decide if AMIGAS is the right intervention for their organization and how to use it. Several informational appendices are included for the Administrators Guide.
  • Promotora Instruction Guide: Provides detailed steps for trained promotoras or community health workers on how to deliver the AMIGAS intervention.
  • Bilingual Flip Chart: An illustrated document in English and Spanish that presents information about cervical cancer and the Pap test, as well as short stories about real women.
  • Contact Sheet: A form for promotoras or community health workers that provides information about every woman who participated in the AMIGAS intervention.
  • Promise to Myself: A personalized form that outlines the specific actions a woman has committed to towards getting a Pap test.
  • Resource Sheet: A form that each program can use to share specific information about Pap testing facilities, hours, and local transportation.
  • Evaluation Form: A form that allows promotoras or community health workers to gather feedback from women who have participated in the AMIGAS intervention.
  • Handout: Additional materials provided to help inform women about cervical cancer and the Pap test and the AMIGAS intervention.
  • Body Diagrams: Pictures of the female reproductive system and the Pap test.

AMIGAS is the result of collaboration of researchers and community members including—

These researchers have years of experience working with the Hispanic community and have published several articles about their work on the AMIGAS intervention.

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