Abstract B01: Identifying barriers to breast cancer screening guideline adherence among minority women residing in rural geographic regions.
Authors: Carter Monique J. , Pizaña Arturo A. , Walker Scharri E. , Davis Tracy A. 
Published: August 2014

Background: Minority women residing in rural geographic communities bear a disproportionate burden of mortality due to invasive breast cancer compared to other racial/ethnic majority groups. Despite this heightened rate of mortality, preventive screening in African American (AA) and Hispanic (H) women is significantly lower than that of Non-Hispanic White (NHW) women. The purpose of this study is to identify and validate the barriers associated with non-compliance to recommended breast cancer screening guidelines in AA and H women in rural geographic regions.

Methods: A prior observational analysis conducted by RHEAI using data from the Texas Cancer Registry (TCR), U.S. Census Bureau, and Survey Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Database identified Cherokee County, Texas as having a significant disparity in breast cancer screening and mortality rates when comparing AA, H, and NHW women. To gauge this disparity, we collected opinions about breast cancer screening and mortality incidence by surveying 13 local stakeholders (including breast cancer survivors, religious leaders, community leaders, local hospital employees, and educators) within the minority community. Based on stakeholder survey results and health disparity literature reviews, a relevant and culturally sensitive survey was developed using the 5-point Livert scale to identify the perceived barriers to breast cancer screening in the general minority population. A total of 115 surveys of AA and H women were planned. The sample size was calculated based on the percentage of AA and H women residing in Cherokee County with a 95% level of confidence and a +/- 5% margin of error.

Results: At the time of this analysis, 24 of 115 (Response Rate=20.87%) surveys were completed online via electronic survey (n=20) and in printed form (n=4) between 05/2012 and 07/2012. The median age of participants was 42 years (range 30-62), 100% were AA women residing in rural Cherokee County. Lack of breast cancer educational/awareness programs, limited transportation access, and lack of local mammography facilities were identified as statistically significant barriers associated with decreased adherence to breast cancer screening guidelines. These barriers varied based on participant age, familial breast cancer history, and level of education.

Conclusions: The interim results of this study demonstrate that minority women in rural areas encounter unique barriers to breast cancer screening access. Upon completion of accrual and data analysis for this study, RHEAI is committed to addressing the identified barriers through effective interventions. Our ultimate goal is to improve health care accessibility for underserved minority groups through collaborative efforts within the community.

Note: This abstract was not presented at the conference.

Citation Format: Monique J. Carter, Arturo A. Pizaña, Scharri E. Walker, Tracy A. Davis. Identifying barriers to breast cancer screening guideline adherence among minority women residing in rural geographic regions. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fifth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2012 Oct 27-30; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2012;21(10 Suppl):Abstract nr B01.