Knowledge Assessment and Screening Barriers for Breast Cancer in an Arab American Community in Dearborn, Michigan

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy afflicting women during their lifetime. Screening for breast cancer can reduce mortality through early cancer detection. Lack of knowledge is an important barrier leading to low screening rates. Little research has evaluated breast cancer knowledge an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of community health 2019-10, Vol.44 (5), p.988-997
Main Authors: Ayyash, Mariam, Ayyash, Marwa, Bahroloomi, Sheena, Hamade, Hiam, Makki, Mona, Hassouneh, Samar, Blackwood, R. Alexander
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arab Americans
Arabs
Barriers
Breast cancer
Cancer
Community
Community and Environmental Psychology
Community centers
Community organizations
Community Relations
Ethics
Evaluation
Families & family life
Family medical history
Genetics
Health
Health behavior
Health care
Health care industry
Health insurance
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Health services
Information processing
Knowledge
Knowledge Level
Malignancy
Mammography
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
ORIGINAL PAPER
Outreach Programs
Primary care
Primary Health Care
Screening
Signs and symptoms
Social services
Survival
Survivor
Tests
Work organization
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Summary:Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy afflicting women during their lifetime. Screening for breast cancer can reduce mortality through early cancer detection. Lack of knowledge is an important barrier leading to low screening rates. Little research has evaluated breast cancer knowledge and barriers to receiving appropriate screening among Arab Americans. Given that the Arab American population has grown approximately 47% since 2000, this study was designed to assess breast cancer knowledge and screening barriers in an Arab American community. An anonymous survey addressing knowledge assessment and screening for breast cancer was distributed at the Arab Community Center for Economics and Social Services in Dearborn, MI between June 2015 and August 2017. The survey was modified based on a similar study that was conducted Among Adult Saudi women in a primary health care setting. 102 non-BC survivors, 48 BC survivors and 50 men participated in this study. Gaps in knowledge around the role of age and family history, as well as cancer presentation were noted among the participants. Additionally, 51% of non-BC survivors over the age of 40 years have not had a screening mammogram in the past 2 years with leading causes being absence of symptoms, lack of health insurance, and absence of family history. Healthcare providers and community organizations should work towards increasing knowledge levels, reducing misconceptions and improving screening rates for breast cancer among Arab Americans. Increasing community outreach and education and navigating the community’s health beliefs and practices can optimize the process of information delivery to community members.
ISSN:0094-5145
1573-3610
DOI:10.1007/s10900-019-00671-4