Factors Affecting African American Womens Participation In Breast Cancer Screening Programs A Qualitative Study Of Uninsured Low Income Women

Breast cancer screening programs offer the greatest promise for early detection but rates of participation in free screening programs have been disappointing for challenged populations. The purpose of the current study is to elaborate the beliefs and culturally embedded meanings that a population of low income, uninsured African American women hold toward breast cancer and breast cancer screening. During Year 01, the intermediary systematically attempted to contact 685 potentially eligible women from a - population data base from the Breast and Cervical Health Program in Washington state. Of these, 318 women had non-functioning phone contact numbers. Another 175 women were successfully contacted by the study intermediary, 91 of whom were screened out as ineligible and 26 of whom refused participation. A total of 64 eligible women agreed to be contacted by a study interviewer, 9 of whom declined or were determined to be ineligible by the interviewer. Thirty-one (31) women were enrolled and completed the case intensive interview and an additional 24 eligible women agreed to be contacted by a study team interviewer and are pending enrollment. Quality monitoring has been instituted for data generation and transcription. Initial inductive coding has yielded findings not previously documented in the research literature.