Health behaviors and breast cancer: experiences of urban African American women. Health Educ Behav 2006 Oct;33(5):604-24
Date
08/23/2006Pubmed ID
16923833DOI
10.1177/1090198106290845Scopus ID
2-s2.0-33748140359 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 38 CitationsAbstract
Breast-cancer survival rates are lower among African American women compared to White women. Obesity may contribute to this disparity. More than 77% of African American women are overweight or obese. Adopting health behaviors that promote a healthy weight status may be beneficial because obesity increases risk for recurrence. Studies among White breast-cancer survivors indicate that many make health behavior changes after diagnosis. This cross-sectional pilot study collected quantitative and qualitative data on the attitudes, beliefs, barriers, and facilitators related to health behavior changes in 27 overweight/obese African American breast-cancer survivors. Results indicated that most participants reported making dietary changes since their diagnosis, and some had increased their physical activity. Focus groups provided rich details on the barriers and facilitators for behavior change. These results begin to address the significant gap in our knowledge of African American breast-cancer survivors' health behaviors and underscore the need for culturally competent health behavior interventions.
Author List
Stolley MR, Sharp LK, Wells AM, Simon N, Schiffer LAuthor
Melinda Stolley PhD Center Associate Director, Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultAged
Attitude to Health
Breast Neoplasms
Chicago
Diet
Exercise
Female
Focus Groups
Health Behavior
Humans
Middle Aged
Surveys and Questionnaires
Urban Population
Weight Gain
