Mammography screening behavior has not been well studied among Middle Eastern immigrant women. We conducted a telephone survey of 365 Arab American women residing in metropolitan Detroit, home to one of the largest populations of Middle Eastern immigrants in the US, to determine prevalence of factors associated with mammography, and attitudes and beliefs regarding mammography screening. Of 365 participants, only five were born in the US. Mean age was 53.2 years (SD 10.8). Two hundred twelve (58.1%) reported having mammogram every 1-2 years; 70% ever had mammogram. Age 50-64 years, having health insurance, married status, being in the US over 10 years, and being Lebanese were associated with mammography every 1-2 years. After adjusting for demographic factors, perceived seriousness of disease, general health motivation, and having fewer barriers were associated with more frequent screening. Appropriate mammography screening is decreased in this group. Targeted outreach regarding screening is appropriate for this population; however, lack of insurance may prevent adequate follow-up.

Background Trauma exposure contributes to poor mental health among refugees, and exposure often is measured using a cumulative index of items from the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ). Few studies, however, have asked whether trauma subtypes derived from the HTQ could be superior to this cumulative index in predicting mental health outcomes. Methods A community sample of recently arrived Iraqi refugees (N = 298) completed the HTQ and measures of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms. Results Principal components analysis of HTQ items revealed a 5-component subtype model of trauma that accounted for more item variance than a 1-component solution. These trauma subtypes also accounted for more variance in PTSD and depression symptoms (12% and 10%, respectively) than did the cumulative trauma index (7% and 3%, respectively). Discussion Trauma subtypes provided more information than cumulative trauma in the prediction of negative mental health outcomes. Therefore, use of these subtypes may enhance the utility of the HTQ when assessing at-risk populations.

Violence against women is an important public health problem. The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) among immigrant Iraqi women, and to explore the association between IPV and self-rated health. A pilot study using a previously published, self-report questionnaire was carried out among a convenience sampling of 55 Iraqi women in greater Detroit. The overall prevalence of controlling behavior, threatening behavior, and physical violence was 93, 76, and 80%, respectively. Approximately 40% of the women reported having poor or fair health, and 90% reported experiencing one or more types of psychosomatic symptoms. Self-rated health was inversely related to exposure to threatening behavior and physical violence, and positively related to knowledge of one's legal rights. The prevalence of IPV in this sample was high. Results indicated a significant association between exposure to IPV and women's physical health and psychosomatic symptoms.

BACKGROUND: The authors reviewed changes in accrual to cancer clinical trials over the last 2 decades at their institution with a focus on minority participation after the implementation of a community clinical oncology program (CCOP) and an aggressive, education‐orientated minority outreach program (MOP). METHODS: Data on patient enrollment in clinical trials for the years 1988 to 2010 was obtained from the William Beaumont Hospital (WBH) Cancer Clinical Trials Office. The type and number of cancers diagnosed and treated during the same period were obtained from the WBH tumor registry data. The MOP was initiated in the fall of 2003 with a focus on culture‐specific cancer education. RESULTS: With the development of the CCOP, clinical trials accrual increased significantly by 10‐fold (P = .001). The primary service area for the CCOP consistently averaged an 85% to 90% Caucasian population. During the same period, the minority population for the service area remained stable between 8.8% and 10% and did not change significantly. From 1999 to 2004, the WBH tumor registry data demonstrated that minorities represented 8.6% of cancers registered, whereas the average yearly minority enrollment from 2002 to 2004 was 5.4%. After initiation of the MOP, minority accrual doubled to 11% by 2010 with stable minority demographics. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings support the importance of a CCOP in supporting the accrual of patients to national clinical trials and increasing access to state‐of‐the art research. These data also strongly support focusing additional energy and educational efforts on targeting minority representation in clinical trials. Cancer 2011;. © 2011 American Cancer Society.