Race and the validity of self-reported cancer screening behaviors: Development of a conceptual model

Diana J Burgess, Adam A. Powell, Joan M. Griffin, Melissa R Partin

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

43 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Many estimates of cancer screening are based on self-reported screening behavior. There is growing concern that self-reported screening measures may be less accurate among members of racial and ethnic minority groups. This would have considerable implications for research on racial and ethnic disparities in cancer screening. Objectives: To review the literature on the relationship between race/ethnicity and the accuracy of self-reported cancer screening behavior and develop a conceptual framework that would provide a deeper understanding of factors underlying this relationship. Methods: We developed a conceptual framework drawing from diverse literatures including validation studies examining the accuracy of self-reported cancer screening behaviors and articles on survey response bias. Results and conclusions: Evidence suggests that racial and ethnic minorities may be less likely to provide accurate reports of their cancer screening behavior and that overreporting may be particularly problematic. Research conducted in other areas suggests that these sources of measurement error may stem from cognitive and motivational processes and that they can be moderated by question wording and data collection characteristics. At this point, however, the quality of the evidence is not strong and more research is needed before definitive conclusions can be drawn.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)99-107
Number of pages9
JournalPreventive medicine
Volume48
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2009

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Financial support: This project was supported by two grants from the VA Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D): grant #IIR 04-042-2 awarded to Dr. Partin and a Merit Review Entry Program (MREP) award to Dr. Burgess.

Copyright:
Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • African Americans
  • Cancer screening
  • Disparities
  • Ethnic groups
  • Minority groups
  • Race/ethnicity
  • Self-report
  • Social cognition
  • Survey methods
  • Validation studies

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Race and the validity of self-reported cancer screening behaviors: Development of a conceptual model'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this