Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Latina and Black/African American Women’s Perspectives on Cancer Screening and Cancer Screening Reminders

  • Published:
Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduction

Racial and ethnic disparities continue to exist in cancer screening rates, especially among US Latina and Black/African American populations. We conducted six focus groups among 41 women from these communities in order to better understand their preferences about cancer screening reminders and the motivators and deterrents they face in obtaining recommended breast, cervical, and colon cancer screening.

Methods

Using self-reported patient race/ethnicity from electronic medical records of a large, integrated health care system in Seattle, we recruited women ages 30–60 to participate in one of five 2-hour focus groups. Using verbatim transcripts from these discussions, we conducted a qualitative analysis to identify common themes.

Results

The focus group participants were primarily strong endorsers and utilizers of recommended breast, cervical, and colon cancer screening services. Insurance and belief in preventive care were the most common motivators that they cited in obtaining cancer screening. However, they still reported multiple barriers to getting recommended cancer screening for themselves and community members, including lack of time, conflicting information about screening intervals, distrust in the health care system, and a lack of understanding of the benefits of preventive care.

Conclusions

Efforts to improve understanding about the benefits of cancer screening, clarify cancer screening guideline recommendations, increase cultural competency among health care professionals, and expand the times and locations where cancer screening is available are all options that may improve cancer screening rates among Latinas and Black/African American women.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results Program. SEER Stat Face Sheets: Female Breast Cancer. National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD. 2015. http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/breast.html. Accessed 6 Aug 2016.

  2. Smith RA. The value of modern mammography screening in the control of breast cancer: understanding the underpinnings of the current debates. Cancer Epidemiol Biomark Prev. 2014;23(7):1139–46. doi:10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-13-0946.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. El Zoghbi M, Cummings LC. New era of colorectal cancer screening. World J Gastrointest Endosc. 2016;8(5):252–8. doi:10.4253/wjge.v8.i5.252.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Virnig BA, Baxter NN, Habermann EB, Feldman RD, Bradley CJ. A matter of race: early-versus late-stage cancer diagnosis. Health Aff (Millwood). 2009;28(1):160–8. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.28.1.160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Holowatyj AN, Ruterbusch JJ, Rozek LS, Cote ML, Stoffel EM. Racial/ethnic disparities in survival among patients with young-onset colorectal cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2016;34(18):2148–56. doi:10.1200/JCO.2015.65.0994 JCO.2015.65.0994.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts and Figues 2016. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society 2016. Report No.: 500812.

  7. DeSantis CE, Siegel RL, Sauer AG, Miller KD, Fedewa SA, Alcaraz KI, et al. Cancer statistics for African Americans, 2016: progress and opportunities in reducing racial disparities. CA Cancer J Clin. 2016; doi:10.3322/caac.21340.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Eng TY, Chen T, Vincent J, Patel AJ, Clyburn V, Ha CS. Persistent disparities in Hispanics with cervical cancer in a major city. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2016; doi:10.1007/s40615-016-0214-3.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. American Cancer Society. Cancer Prevention & Early Detection Facts & Figures. American Cancer Society, Atlanta, GA. http://www.cancer.org/research/cancerfactsstatistics/cancer-prevention-early-detection. Accessed 5 Aug 2016.

  10. Smith SG, McGregor LM, Raine R, Wardle J, von Wagner C, Robb KA. Inequalities in cancer screening participation: examining differences in perceived benefits and barriers. Psychooncology. 2016; doi:10.1002/pon.4195.

    PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Basch CH, Basch CE, Zybert P, Wolf RL. Fear as a barrier to asymptomatic colonoscopy screening in an urban minority population with health insurance. J Community Health. 2016;41(4):818–24. doi:10.1007/s10900-016-0159-9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Millon-Underwood S, Kelber ST. Exploratory study of breast cancer screening practices of urban women: a closer look at who is and is not getting screened. ABNF J. 2015;26(2):30–8.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Moshkovich O, Lebrun-Harris L, Makaroff L, Chidambaran P, Chung M, Sripipatana A, et al. Challenges and opportunities to improve cervical cancer screening rates in US health centers through patient-centered medical home transformation. Adv Prev Med. 2015;2015:182073. doi:10.1155/2015/182073.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Waghray A, Jain A, Waghray N. Colorectal cancer screening in African Americans: practice patterns in the United States. are we doing enough? Gastroenterol Rep (Oxf). 2016;4(2):136–40. doi:10.1093/gastro/gow005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Molina Y, Plascak JJ, Patrick DL, Bishop S, Coronado GD, Beresford SA. Neighborhood predictors of mammography barriers among US-based Latinas. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2016; doi:10.1007/s40615-016-0222-3.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Miranda-Diaz C, Betancourt E, Ruiz-Candelaria Y, Hunter-Mellado RF. Barriers for compliance to breast, colorectal, and cervical screening cancer tests among Hispanic patients. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016;13(1):ijerph13010021. doi:10.3390/ijerph13010021.

    Google Scholar 

  17. U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States Cancer Statistics: 1999–2013 Incidence and Mortality Web-based Report. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Cancer Institute, Atlanta, GA. 2016. https://nccd.cdc.gov/uscs/. Accessed 5 Aug 2016.

  18. American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures for Hispanics/Latinos 2012–2014. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society 2012. Report No.: 862312.

  19. Baker DW, Brown T, Goldman SN, Liss DT, Kollar S, Balsley K, et al. Two-year follow-up of the effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention to improve adherence to annual colorectal cancer screening in community health centers. Cancer Causes Control. 2015;26(11):1685–90. doi:10.1007/s10552-015-0650-0.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Weaver KE, Ellis SD, Denizard-Thompson N, Kronner D, Miller DP. Crafting appealing text messages to encourage colorectal cancer screening test completion: a qualitative study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2015;3(4):e100. doi:10.2196/mhealth.4651.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Davis JL, Ramos R, Rivera-Colon V, Escobar M, Palencia J, Grant CG, et al. The Yo me cuido(R) program: addressing breast cancer screening and prevention among Hispanic women. J Cancer Educ. 2015;30(3):439–46. doi:10.1007/s13187-014-0710-2.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Toth CSM. The only safe SMS texting is no SMS texting. J Med Pract Manage. 2015;31(3):187–90.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Cole AMTS, Fernandez ME, Calo WA, Hotz J, Wolver S. Reported use of electronic health records to implement evidence based approaches to colorectal cancer screening in community health centers. J Health Poor Underserved. 2015;26(4):1235–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. MacLaughlin KL, Swanson KM, Naessens JM, Angstman KB, Chaudhry R. Cervical cancer screening: a prospective cohort study of the effects of historical patient compliance and a population-based informatics prompted reminder on screening rates. J Eval Clin Pract. 2014;20(2):136–43. doi:10.1111/jep.12098.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Rowe S, Goldsmith G, Price R, Brooks A, Harvey A. Health care providers’ perspectives of an intervention designed to improve colorectal cancer screening rates in family medicine residency clinics: a qualitative study. J Cancer Educ. 2012;27(4):695–702. doi:10.1007/s13187-012-0393-5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Bonfill X, Marzo M, Pladevall M, Marti J, Emparanza JI. Strategies for increasing women participation in community breast cancer screening. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2001;1:CD002943. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD002943.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Wagner TH. The effectiveness of mailed patient reminders on mammography screening: a meta-analysis. Am J Prev Med. 1998;14:64–70.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Forbes C, Jepson R, Martin-Hirsch P. Interventions targeted at women to encourage the uptake of cervical screening. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2002;3:CD002834. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD002834.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Stone E, Morton S, Hulscher M, Maglione M, Roth EA, Grimshaw JM, et al. Interventions that increase use of adult immunization and cancer screening services: a meta-analysis. Ann Intern Med. 2002;136:641–51.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Jacobson VJ, Szilagyi P. Patient reminder and patient recall systems to improve immunization rates. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2005;3:CD003941. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD003941.pub2.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Sequist TD, Zaslavsky AM, Marshall R, Fletcher RH, Ayanian JZ. Patient and physician reminders to promote colorectal cancer screening: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(4):364–71. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2008.564.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  32. McCarthey D, Mueller K, Tillman I. Group Health Cooperative: reinventing primary care by connecting patients with a medical home. Washington, DC: The Commonwealth Fund2009 July 2009 Contract No.: 1283.

  33. Reid RJ, Fishman PA, Yu O, Ross TR, Tufano JT, Soman MP, et al. Patient-centered medical home demonstration: a prospective, quasi-experimental, before and after evaluation. Am J Manag Care. 2009;15(9):e71–87.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. American Academy of Family Physicians. Joint Principles of a Patient-Centered Medical Home Released by Organizations Representing More Than 300,000 Physicians American Academy of Family Physicians, Leawood, KS. 2007. http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/media/releases/2007/20070305pressrelease0.html. Accessed 5 Aug 2016.

  35. Bowles EJ, Gao H, Brandzel S, Bradford SC, Buist DS. Comparative effectiveness of two outreach strategies for cervical cancer screening. Prev Med. 2016;86:19–27. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.01.016.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Smith A. U.S Smartpone Use in 2015. In: Pew Research Center - Internet, Science & Tech. Pew Research Center, New York, NY. 2015. http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/01/us-smartphone-use-in-2015/. Accessed 5 Aug 2016.

  37. Drake BF, Tannan S, Anwuri VV, Jackson S, Sanford M, Tappenden J, et al. A community-based partnership to successfully implement and maintain a breast health navigation program. J Community Health. 2015;40(6):1216–23. doi:10.1007/s10900-015-0051-z.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  38. Scheel JR, Molina Y, Briant KJ, Ibarra G, Lehman CD, Thompson B. Latinas’ Mammography Intention Following a Home-based Promotores-led intervention. J Community Health. 2015;40(6):1185–92. doi:10.1007/s10900-015-0046-9.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We wish to acknowledge the contribution of the study participants who took the time to candidly share their experiences and opinions with us. Additionally, we would like to thank Hongyuan Gao for the programming support she provided to recruit study participants.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Group Health Research Institute, 1730 Minor Ave, Suite 1600, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA

    Susan Brandzel, Leah Tuzzio, Erin J. Aiello Bowles & Diana S. M. Buist

  2. RTI International, 307 Waverley Oaks Rd #101, Waltham, MA, 02452, USA

    Eva Chang

  3. Swedish Cancer Institute, 500 17th Ave, Seattle, WA, 98122, USA

    Camille Campbell

  4. University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific St., Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Nora Coronado

  5. Group Health Cooperative, Department of Clinical Improvement and Prevention, 201 16th Ave E, Seattle, WA, 98112, USA

    Susan Carol Bradford

Authors
  1. Susan Brandzel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Eva Chang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Leah Tuzzio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Camille Campbell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Nora Coronado
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Erin J. Aiello Bowles
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Susan Carol Bradford
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Diana S. M. Buist
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diana S. M. Buist.

Ethics declarations

Funding

American Cancer Society RSGI-11-100-01-CPHPS (PI D. Buist); National Cancer Institute U01CA63731 (PI D. Buist).

Conflict of Interest

All authors declare they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Brandzel, S., Chang, E., Tuzzio, L. et al. Latina and Black/African American Women’s Perspectives on Cancer Screening and Cancer Screening Reminders. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 4, 1000–1008 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-016-0304-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-016-0304-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation