Paper
Wednesday, 19 July 2006
This presentation is part of : Healthcare Disparities
Perceptions of Cancer Fatalism and Cancer Knowledge: A Comparison of Younger and Older African American Women
Barbara Powe, PhD, RN, American Cancer Society, Atlanta, GA, USA
Learning Objective #1: Describe the potential influence of cancer fatalism among African American women.
Learning Objective #2: Compare and contrast perceptions of cancer fatalism among African American women at historically Black colleges and universities with women at health centers.
Cancer fatalism (the belief that death is inevitable when cancer is present) has been identified as a barrier to participation in cancer screening and patient-provider communication.  To date perceptions of cancer fatalism have been reported among older rural populations, those with lower education, and low income.  Little is known about cancer fatalism among younger women.  This correlational study, guided by the Patient / Provider / System Theoretical Model (PPSTM) compares cancer fatalism and knowledge of breast and cervical cancer among African American women at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) with women at federally qualified primary care centers (FQHC). Data were collected using the Powe Fatalism Inventory, the Breast Cancer Knowledge Survey (BCKS), the Cervical Cancer Knowledge Survey (CKS), and a demographic questionnaire.  Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and regression.  Women at the HBCU’s (n=356) were significantly younger, had higher education, and greater knowledge of breast and cervical cancer compared to the other women (n=361).  Cancer fatalism scores were lower for both groups than have been reported for older women.    Nonetheless, women who attended the FQHC had significantly higher levels of cancer fatalism.  Across both groups, as cancer fatalism scores increased, education and knowledge of breast and cervical cancer decreased.  Predictors of cancer fatalism were educational level and knowledge of breast cancer.  Perceptions of cancer fatalism develop over time based on the social, economic, political, and historical realities.  The lower levels of cancer fatalism among the HBCU students may reflect the fact that their life experiences have been limited. A longitudinal study may be needed to correlated experiences over time with the strengthening of these perceptions and their influence of cancer screening and early detection behaviors.  It may be possible to intervene earlier in the life cycle to negate the emergence of fatalistic perceptions.

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