Medicina Comunitária e Educação em Saúde

Abstrato

Variance in Breast Cancer Screening Beliefs and Behaviors amongst African American and Afro-Caribbean Women

Linda D Thélémaque*, Devin Madden and Lina Jandorf

Objectives: This study examined breast cancer screening adherence among African American and Afro-Caribbean women. Characteristics, attitudes, beliefs and barriers for these subpopulations were explored. Methods: The Witness Project of Harlem hosted 167 breast and cervical cancer education programs in local community settings. Attendees completed questionnaires to self-report screening adherence as well as attitudes, beliefs and barriers. Results: Of the sample (1633 women), 1347 (67.9%) were African American and 286 (14.4%) were Afro-Caribbean. Adherence rates for breast self-exam; clinical breast exam and mammography were similar with differences less than 4% while factors for screening adherence differed. Discussion: This study suggests that women within the Black population may not share the same health related beliefs and/or attitudes, supporting the idea that programs should be culturally-tailored for subpopulations. To improve future interventions, more research should examine differences in determinants between these two ethnic subgroups and the sources of these differences.