BACKGROUND: @entity1 at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center frequently voice concern that air exposure during @entity2 surgery might cause @entity5 spread. Several African-American @entity1 asserted that this belief was common in the African-American community. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of the belief that air exposure during @entity2 surgery might cause @entity5 spread and gauge the influence of this belief on the willingness of African-American and white @entity1 to have @entity2 surgery. DESIGN: Prospective questionnaire survey. SETTING: Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center and University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Los Angeles, California; and Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina. @entity1 : 626 consecutive @entity1 in @entity2 clinics. MEASUREMENTS: None. RESULTS: 38% of @entity1 (61% of whom were African American and 29% of whom were white) stated that they believe air exposure at surgery causes @entity5 spread. The most significant predictor of belief was African-American race (odds ratio, 3.5 [95% CI, 1.9 to 6.5]), even after controlling for other relevant variables in a multivariable analysis. Nineteen percent of African Americans stated that this belief was a reason for opposing surgery, and 14% would not accept their physicians' assertion that the belief is false. These rates were also statistically significantly higher among African-American than white @entity1 . CONCLUSIONS: Belief in accelerated @entity5 spread at surgery is prevalent among general pulmonary outpatients and @entity2 clinic @entity1 facing lung surgery, particularly among African-American @entity1 . Our findings may pertain to key racial disparities in @entity2 surgery and survival rates and suggest that culturally sensitive physician training or outreach programs directed at disparate beliefs and attitudes may help to address racial discrepancies in health care outcomes.

Racial differences pertaining to a belief about XXXX surgery: results of a multicenter survey.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['Patients', 'patients', 'PATIENTS'] @entity2 :: ('MESH:D008175', 'Disease') :: ['pulmonary and lung cancer', 'lung cancer'] @entity5 :: ('MESH:D009369', 'Disease') :: ['tumor']
@entity2 :: (MESH:D008175,Disease) :: ['lung cancer']
