Mammography and African American Women: Psycho-cultural, Socioeconomic, and Medical Factors in Mammography Screening

Despite various intervention methods, breast cancer remained the main cause of high mortality rates among African American women in the United States. The purpose of this study was to increase breast cancer awareness, screening, and survival rates among women ages 40 and above in the San Francisco Bay Area. The research questions related to whether or not psycho-cultural, socioeconomic, and medical care factors (independent variables) affected the mammography screening rates (dependent variable) of African American women. The health belief model (HBM) served as the theoretical framework and guided the development of the descriptive attitude survey instrument, which encapsulated the HBM constructs through the psycho-cultural (perceptions, beliefs, and practices), socioeconomic, and medical care factors. The study utilized a mixed method research design combining both qualitative and quantitative approaches. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using the descriptive attitude survey instrument. This was administered to a group of 120 participants who were nonrandomly selected. In addition, personal interviews were conducted from a nonrandom sample. The association between all the independent variables and the dependent variable rate was tested using Pearson's correlation coefficient. The findings confirmed that African American women's mammography screening rates were affected by cost-related concerns, safety, and outcomes of screening. The results can enhance outreach, educational programs and also transform beliefs and perceptions. This would facilitate social change in this group towards an increased acceptance of mammography screening for earlier detection of breast cancer, and lead to lower late diagnosis and increased survival rates.