Breast cancer screening among immigrant Muslim arab women in the United States: Analyzing relationships between beliefs, knowledge, spousal support and mammogram utilization. J Natl Med Assoc 2023 Jun;115(3):302-313
Date
03/27/2023Pubmed ID
36967269DOI
10.1016/j.jnma.2023.03.001Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85151410116 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)Abstract
BACKGROUND: Regular mammogram screenings contribute to a decreased breast cancer (BC) mortality rate. Women from ethnic minorities in the United States, however, often underutilize mammogram screenings; in particular, immigrant Muslim Arab (IMAW) women have low mammogram screening rates.
OBJECTIVE: To explore the associations between mammogram utilization and (a) health and religious beliefs, (b) level of knowledge about mammograms, (c) health care provider (HCP) recommendations, and (d) spousal support.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study employed online data collection. An Arabic or English survey was completed by women who were 45 or older and married, had immigrated from Arab countries, and had no history of breast cancer. Logistic regression was conducted for data analyses.
RESULTS: Of the 184 Immigrant Muslim Arab survey participants, 86.6% reported having had at least one mammogram in their lifetime, and 32.6% adhered to mammograms. Ever having obtained a mammogram and adherence to mammograms were negatively associated with perceived mammogram barriers and positively associated with (a) spousal support, (b) level of mammogram knowledge, and (c) perceived self-confidence. Receiving (HCP) recommendation increased the likelihood of ever having obtained a mammogram. Finally, participants who reported higher levels of perceived mammogram benefits were more likely to have obtained a mammogram within the last 2 years compared to their counterparts.
CONCLUSIONS: IMAW have demonstrated low mammogram adherence rate.
IMPLICATIONS: Nursing clinicians and scholars must play a role in designing and implementing interventions to promote women adherence to mammograms. Involving husbands in these interventions may improve immigrant Muslim Arab women's mammogram adherence rates.
Author List
Alkhaifi S, Padela AI, Hodge F, Brecht MLAuthor
Aasim Padela MD Vice Chair, Professor in the Emergency Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
ArabsBreast Neoplasms
Cross-Sectional Studies
Early Detection of Cancer
Emigrants and Immigrants
Female
Humans
Islam
United States
