A Spiritually Based Approach to Breast Cancer Awareness: Cognitive Response Analysis of Communication Effectiveness

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the communication effectiveness of a spiritually-based approach to breast cancer early detection education with a secular approach, among African American women, by conducting a cognitive response analysis. A total of 108 women from six Alabama churches were randomly assigned by church to receive a spiritually-based or secular educational booklet discussing breast cancer early detection. Based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model , after reading the booklets participants were asked to complete a thought-listing task writing down any thoughts they experienced and rating them as positive, negative, or neutral. Two independent coders then used five dimensions to code participants thoughts. Compared with the secular booklet, the spiritually-based booklet resulted in significantly more thoughts involving personal connection, self-assessment, and spiritually-based responses. These results suggest that a spiritually-based approach to breast cancer awareness may be more effective than the secular because it caused women to more actively process the message, stimulating central route processing. The incorporation of spiritually-based content into churchbased breast cancer education could be a promising health communication approach for African American women.The American Cancer Society (2005 a ) estimates that there will be 1,372,910 new cancer cases in the United States in 2005 and 570,280 cancer deaths, or about 1,500 per day. Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among all women in the United States (SEER, 2005). Among the many cancer disparities that impact the African American community, breast cancer is the number one cancer killer among African American women (ACS 2005 b ). Although breast cancer is more common in European American women over age 40 years, African American women with breast cancer are more likely to die from the disease (ACS 2005 b ).Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Holt, University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Medicine, Division of Preventive Medicine, 1717 11 th Avenue South, Medical Towers Suite 641, Birmingham, 934-2816. Fax: (205) . " cholt@uab.edu". HHS Public AccessAuthor manuscript Health Commun. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 August 28. Importance of early detectionTreatment is available for breast cancer; however, successful treatment depends heavily upon early diagnosis. Regular mammography screenings play a vital role in early detection and treatment of breast cancer. Unfortunately, African American women with low access to health information through the mass media have lower likelihood of getting a mammogram than other women (Danigelis, Worden, Flynn, Skelly, & Vacek, 2005). In a sample of African American, Latina, and European American women, perceived access to healthcare services was predicted by perception of prejudicial treatment in health service delivery, language spoken, and financial capability (Facione, 1999). In addition, low perceived access predicted low rates of ...

Spreading the Gospel of Good Health: Assessing Mass Women's Magazines as Communication Vehicles to Combat Health Disparities Among African Americans

“…The report also states that "African Americans stand out as the most religiously committed racial or ethnic group in the nation." Health communication and public health scholars recognize the importance U.S. citizens such as African Americans place on religion and spirituality and have investigated how these psychosocial and sociocultural factors influence health behavior outcome (Holt, Lee, & Wright, 2008;King, Burgess, Akinyela, Counts-Spriggs, & Parker, 2005;Kreuter & Haughton, 2006 For African American women who suffer disproportionately from a number of cancers, HIV/AIDS (CDC, 2007) and obesity, studies have shown a strong linkage among spirituality, religion and health (Holt, Clark, Kreuter, & Rubio, 2003). Religion and spirituality are components that not only help African American women to cope but also to encourage women to seek medical attention and preventive care (Bickel et al, 2006;Obesity, Fitness, & Wellness Week, 2004); ultimately affect health behavior and have "preventive value in areas such as cognitive stress inoculation and psychosocial competency building" (Brome, Owens, Allen, & Vevaina, 2000, p. 471).…”

Risk, Activism, and Empowerment

“…While church-based health communication may not be at the forefront of screening compliance strategizing, it is considered an important tactic for some niche demographics that place a strong emphasis on the synergy between health and faith (Frisby, 2006). For instance, in their analysis of the effectiveness of a spiritually based approach to education on early detection of this disease, Holt, Lee, and Wright (2008) found that spiritually based interventions could be highly effective if properly strategized. Thus, interventions and communication techniques that demonstrate sensitivity to religious precepts can facilitate increased compliance to proper breast health practices.…”

“…Thus, although Latin American women demonstrate a lower incidence of breast cancer, they are more likely than non-Hispanic White women to die from this disease (Lantz et al, 2006). Several studies demonstrate a higher death rate among Hispanic patients when compared to White women, despite the lower incidence of this minority in acquiring the disease (Holt, Lee & Wright, 2008). While health disparities and low health literacy act as barriers to Latin American women's breast cancer screening compliance, various other cultural and socioeconomic factors interact with this issue.…”

“…Religion and spirituality interact with Latin American women's views on breast cancer screening and treatment (Holt, Lee & Wright, 2008). While church-based health communication may not be at the forefront of screening compliance strategizing, it is considered an important tactic for some niche demographics that place a strong emphasis on the synergy between health and faith (Frisby, 2006).…”

Exploring Breast Health Perceptions, Behaviors, and Social Cohesion among Ethnically Diverse Black Women

“…Kissal, Vural, Ersin, Solmaz (2017) found that social support counteracts fear and promotes completion of mammograms. Holt, Lee, and Wright (2008) also found that a spiritually based approach to breast cancer awareness may be more effective than the secular approach, because it caused women to more actively process the message, and in doing so, women were persuaded by the content of the message. Women from both populations indicated that the lack of support from their social networks, family, and the community where they live has discouraged their involvement with mammograms.…”