Promoting breast cancer screening in rural, African American communities: The "science and art" of community health promotion

Implementing community health promotion programs can be a daunting task for social workers. Aside from the practical skills necessary for engaging diverse groups, it requires an understanding of the complex interplay of several theoretical constructs. Using an eight-yens breast cancer prevention project, the North Carolina Breast Cancer Screening Program, as a case study, this article describes both the "science and art" of community health promotion. The article provides examples illustrating the "art" of generating participation by both lay and professional communities and concludes with guidelines for social workers who plan to conduct their own community health promotion programs.