Abstract
A university-public health collaborative was formed to more fully understand cancer risk among rural women in Georgia. Objectives: This study sought to gain an understanding of racial differences with regard to behavioral risk, perception of breast cancer risk, and perception of barriers to screening. Design: Differences in subjects’ risk and risk perception were assessed by creating, piloting, and administering a written survey at local health departments. Sample: A purposive sample of females enrolled in breast and cervical cancer screening programs in four rural counties in southeast Georgia (n = 147) were surveyed. Subjects were randomly invited to participate. Incentives were provided to enhance participation. Results: White females were significantly more likely than were black females to perceive pollution (OR: 4.63; p = 0.038), smoking (OR: 2.39; p = 0.018), age (OR: 3.01; p = 0.013), and hormone replacement therapy (OR: 3.17; p = 0.005) as factors influencing their breast cancer risk, and to perceive cost as a barrier to screening (OR: 2.89; p = 0.032). From a risk perspective, black females were more likely than white females to have had five-or-more pregnancies (p = 0.005), and to have given birth before age fifteen (p = 0.011). Conclusions: This study provided important baseline data about breast cancer risk necessary in developing effective health promotion programs.
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Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Tedders, Stuart H.; Parrillo, Anthony V.; Peace, Karl E.; and Knight, Jannell R.
(2006)
"Racial Differences in Perception of Breast Cancer Risk in Rural Southeast Georgia,"
Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association: Vol. 1:
No.
2, Article 3.
DOI: 10.20429/jgpha.2006.010203
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/jgpha/vol1/iss2/3