Factors Associated with Adherence to Preventive Breast Cancer Screenings among Middle-aged African American Women
Department
Social Work and Human Services
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-1-2019
Abstract
Medical and other health professionals recommend biyearly screening for breast cancer for women 40–74 years of age. However, the breast cancer screening rate of African American women aged 45 and up is lower than that of other ethnicities. The present study intended to identify factors impacting African American women’s participation in breast cancer screening. This study is a longitudinal secondary data analysis of 3,911 African American participants of the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation. By using Systems Model of Clinical Preventive Care, multinomial logistic regression was applied to explore the likelihood of having breast cancer screenings (breast exam and/or mammogram) associating with predisposing factors, enabling factors, referencing factors, and situational factors. Participants with older age, with higher education, having a healthcare provider for female health, in far distance, and with a cancer(s) were significantly more likely to adhere to the recommendations of breast cancer screenings. However, participants who did not have time to visit doctors, did not trust the physicians, and who smoked regularly were significantly less likely to adhere to the recommendations of breast cancer screenings. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.
Journal Title
Social Work in Public Health
Journal ISSN
1937-1918,1937-190X
Volume
34
Issue
7
First Page
646
Last Page
656
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1080/19371918.2019.1649226