Deconstructing the monolith: Differences in attitudes about mammography among low-income African American women.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore how health beliefs may vary within a minority group. In this mixed-method study, 63 low-income African American women engaged in six focus groups discussing beliefs that inhibited or facilitated mammography. Differences in cognitive complexity, self-efficacy, and attributions of causality occurred across neighborhoods despite the geographic proximity and demographic similarity. The attitude change that occurred during the discussion suggested ways to construct effective health interventions. The data suggest (a) that women were similarly knowledgeable about mammography and cancer, (b) knowledge did not correspond with attitudes, (c) attitudes must be addressed before knowledge can be utilized, (d) attitudes are developed and maintained within neighborhood social networks and that stories maintain these attitudes, (e) increasing the discussion among peers should lead to greater attitude change and discussion leads to increased thought, and (f) motivation and follow through are connected to women's roles within their communities.

Integrating health care: The clear advantage for underserved diverse populations.

“…Strategies used by the medical system to provide information to minorities are different than those strategies typically used by these communities. The LGBT community was the first to make extant use of the web as a source of health information (Kalichman et al, 2005), whereas African American persons use neighborhood narratives (Petersen, Hydeman, & Murphy, 2010), and some other cultures combine the use of spiritual advice with Western medicine. An intermediary who understands the culture of the patients as well as the nature of behavior change enhances adherence to treatment recommendations (Balcazar, Byrd, Ortiz, Tondapu, Chavez, 2009).…”

The Decisional Processing Model: How Cognitive Processing Affects Adherence to Mammography Among African American Women

“…The African American culture is not monolithic, and differences in mammography rates cannot be explained by demographics alone (Petersen, Hydeman, & Murphy, 2009). Perhaps, it is time to discern the processes underlying the within-group differences that are associated with mammography utilization.…”