Explaining and Improving Breast Cancer Information Acquisition among African-American Women in the Deep South

Charkarra Anderson-Lewis, University of Southern Mississippi
Levi Ross, Georgia Southern University
Jarrett Johnson, Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Janice Hastrup, State University of New York at Buffalo
Lee Green, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
Connie L. Kohler, University of Alabama at Birmingham

This is an Accepted Author Manuscript obtained from PMC. The publisher's final edited version of this article is available at Southern Medical Journal.

Abstract

Objectives: A major challenge facing contemporary cancer educators is how to optimize the dissemination of breast cancer prevention and control information to African American women in the Deep South who are believed to be cancer free. The purpose of this research was to provide insight into the breast cancer information-acquisition experiences of African American women in Alabama and Mississippi and to make recommendations on ways to better reach members of this high-risk, underserved population.

Methods: Focus group methodology was used in a repeated, cross-sectional research design with 64 African American women, 35 years old or older who lived in one of four urban or rural counties in Alabama and Mississippi.

Results: Axial-coded themes emerged around sources of cancer information, patterns of information acquisition, characteristics of preferred sources, and characteristics of least-preferred sources.

Conclusions: It is important to invest in lay health educators to optimize the dissemination of breast cancer information to African American women who are believed to be cancer free in the Deep South.