Where Culture Meets Genetics: Exploring Latinas Causal Attributions of Breast and Colon Cancer and Models of Disease Inheritance
Condition: Colon Cancer; Breast Cancer
MeSH terms: Colonic Neoplasms
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      Background:

      Culture can affect the way a person thinks about illness. This can affect how they seek help
      for illness. It can also affect how they choose a treatment and follow it. This can lead to
      health disparities among certain groups of people. Breast and colon cancers are the most
      common cancers for Latinos. Even though they get these cancers at lower rates than other
      population groups, Latinos are more likely to be diagnosed with these cancers at advanced
      stages. Researchers want to study what Latina women immigrants believe causes breast and
      colon cancer and other factors they think play a role in disease. This understanding could
      lead to better interactions between Latinos and their doctors.

      Objective:

      To learn more about what Latina immigrants believe causes breast and colon cancer and other
      factors they think play a role in disease.

      Eligibility:

      Women ages 18 and older who:

      Were born in Latin America

      Speak Spanish

      Have never had breast, ovarian, or colon cancer

      Design:

      Participants will be interviewed in person or over the phone. This will take up to an hour.
      The interview will be recorded. Participants will answer questions about:

      Their family s cancer history

      What they think causes breast and colon cancer

      What they think plays a role in disease
    

Detailed description: 
      Research to understand the sources of health disparities has acknowledged that in addition to
      biomedical risk factors, culture plays an important role in differential health outcomes.
      Consequently, understanding cultural differences that may influence health behavior is key in
      working towards reducing these disparities. Causal attributions are a key component of
      individuals illness perceptions and thus impact health behaviors, which may present as health
      disparities at a population level. While research has explored non-Hispanic White women s
      causal attributions of breast cancer, less is known about Latina s beliefs about the causes
      of breast cancer, and little is known about causal attributions of colon cancer in any
      population. Understanding Latina s causal attributions of breast and colon cancer may provide
      insight into the determinants of cancer disparities in this population. Because a subset of
      both breast and colon cancers result from single gene mutations, which confer an increased
      risk of developing such cancers, understanding causal attributions in Latina populations is
      relevant to the field of genetics. This is especially true since Latinas have historically
      underutilized cancer genetic risk assessment counseling and testing services. As these
      services become a standard part of general healthcare provision, it will become increasingly
      important to understand ways in which different cultural groups interact with genetic
      information. One way this can be done is through investigating culturally informed mental
      models of disease risk and inheritance. This study seeks to describe causal attributions of
      breast and colon cancer and to explore mental models of disease inheritance among Latina
      immigrants . A qualitative exploratory design including interviews comprised of free-listing,
      ranking, and open-ended questions will be used. Participants will be recruited through the
      NIH Clinical Research Volunteer Program as well as using other resources within the Office of
      Participant Recruitment and from among individuals enrolled on other NIH Clinical Center
      protocols. First, we will describe Latina s causal attributions for these cancers. Next, we
      will use cultural consensus theory (CCT) to identify and describe common cultural models of
      causes of these cancers. Finally, we will explore Latina s mental models of disease
      inheritance using both free-listing and open-ended questions.
    

Observational model: Case-Only
Time perspective: Cross-Sectional
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        Women who speak spanish as their primary language; living in the metropolitan
        Baltimore/Washington, DC region
      
Keywords: Cultural Consensus; Natural History