Abstract PO-080: Do African American informal caregivers’ breast cancer fear and cultural beliefs predict the dissemination of breast cancer misinformation and lower mammogram uptake among their social networks?
Authors: Bergeron Nyahne Q. , Strahan Mona , Strayhorn Shaila , Rong Anita , Villegas Misael , Rayas Nancy , Jara Stephanie , Ruiz Izalia , Khanna Aditya , Villines Dana , Watson Karriem , Ferrans Carol , Molina Yamilé 
Published: December 2020

Introduction: African American women experience a disproportionate burden of breast cancer morbidity and mortality. For African American breast cancer survivors, members of their social networks often act as informal caregivers - offering social support and assisting with treatment adherence. They may thus serve as opinion leaders within their own social networks, given their personal experiences with the breast cancer survivor. Nonetheless, informal caregivers are not formally trained and may be vulnerable to breast cancer cultural beliefs and fear related to breast cancer. For this study, we examined: 1) if informal caregivers’ breast cancer cultural beliefs and fear were predictive of breast cancer misinformation shared among their social networks and, 2) if misinformation shared led to lower mammogram uptake among their networks. Methods: This is a secondary analysis of the Offering African Survivors Increased Support (OASIS) study, which assessed African American breast cancer survivors’ experiences with cancer care. To be eligible, subjects had to be: 1) identified as an informal caregiver by a survivor, 2) female, and, 3) of breast cancer screening age (50-74 years). Recruitment took place from Feb 2019 – Mar 2020.

Subjects took part in 60-90 minute in-person or telephone surveys and received an incentive for participation. Validated scales were used in the survey tool to quantify cultural beliefs and fear, spread of breast cancer misinformation, and mammogram uptake. Results: 142 informal caregivers were recruited. All were African American, 56% were 50-62 years of age, 95% had a primary care provider, and 82% had a mammogram in the past year. Overall, 65% reported ≥1 breast cancer cultural belief and all reported breast cancer fear. On average, informal caregivers reported 1.55 (range: 0-15) cultural beliefs and a moderate level of fear (score=19.72, 8-32). 18.3% of informal caregivers shared breast cancer misinformation to their networks.

Informal caregivers who reported ≥1 cultural belief had 74% greater odds of sharing misinformation to their networks (OR=1.74, 95%CI [1.32, 2.29], p&lt;.0001). Among the 341 social network members of informal caregivers who were women and 50-74 years of age, those who received misinformation were 63% less likely to obtain a mammogram (OR=0.37, 95%CI [0.14, 0.94], p=0.04). Conclusion: Informal caregivers who reported breast cancer cultural beliefs were significantly more likely to share breast cancer misinformation to their social networks and social network members who received this misinformation were significantly less likely to receive mammograms. These results may inform planning for health education efforts and community-healthcare interventions that address breast cancer cultural beliefs and promote mammogram uptake among African American women. Future research will assess key themes in breast cancer misinformation shared and differences in misinformation shared from informal caregivers to their networks based on relationship type.

Citation Format: Nyahne Q. Bergeron, Mona Strahan, Shaila Strayhorn, Anita Rong, Misael Villegas, Nancy Rayas, Stephanie Jara, Izalia Ruiz, Aditya Khanna, Dana Villines, Karriem Watson, Carol Ferrans, Yamilé Molina. Do African American informal caregivers’ breast cancer fear and cultural beliefs predict the dissemination of breast cancer misinformation and lower mammogram uptake among their social networks? [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: Thirteenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2020 Oct 2-4. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(12 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-080.