Abstract
Immigrant populations in the United States (US) have lower cancer screening rates compared to none immigrant populations. The purpose of this study was to assess the rates of cancer screening and examine factors associated with cancer screening behavior among African immigrant women in Minnesota. A cross sectional survey of a community based sample was conducted among African immigrants in the Twin Cities. Cancer screening outcome measures were mammography and Papanicolau smear test. The revised theoretical model of health care access and utilization and the behavioral model for vulnerable populations were utilized to assess factors associated with cancer screening. Only 61 and 52 % of the age eligible women in the sample had ever been screened for breast and cervical cancer respectively. Among these women, duration of residence in the US and ethnicity were significant determinants associated with non-screening. Programs to enhance screening rates among this population must begin to address barriers identified by the community.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 450-456 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2014 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Acknowledgments This work was supported in part by NIH P30 CA77598 utilizing the Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Shared Resource of Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota. A special thanks to the African immigrant families for volunteering to participate in this study. We would also like to thank the leaders, organizers and staff members of the New Americans Community Services who aided in recruitment and data collection of the study. Special thanks to Mary Ellen-Berman, who critically reviewed and edited article draft.
Keywords
- African
- Breast
- Cancer
- Cervical
- Immigrant
- Screening
