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Breast Cancer proposal Funded

The specific aim of this project is to develop hypotheses which will lead to better understanding of the social, cultural, spiritual and other factors that influence beliefs and practices preventing early detection of breast cancer among the target population. The objectives are:

1. To identify unexplored barriers to early detection of breast cancer among African-American women over the age of 50, and
2. To identify strategies for reducing these barriers, including methods for testing the effectiveness of these strategies.

This proposal is to conduct a qualitative exploratory study which will identify hypothesis for further study. The specific question to be explored will be: Why is breast cancer among African-American females over the age of 55 identified at later stages than among their White counterparts? The Principal Investigator, will herself, conduct 50 face-to-face, in-depth interviews with 50 women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer to examine beliefs and practices prior to the diagnosis and how these affected decisions to have mammograms and their decisions about the timing of these tests. Additionally, beliefs and practices about breast self examination prior to diagnosis will be explored. Each interviewee will receive an incentive of $50 for participation in the study. All interviews will be tape recorded and transcribed to facilitate content analysis for detailed nuances of decision making about health care in general and specifically about breast cancer screening. (See the full proposal abstract.)