Psychological and Neuropsychological Predictors of Non-Compliance to Mammography Screening Among High-Risk African American Women
Abstract
The breast cancer death rate is high for African American women compared to U.S. National figures and an explanation is that African American women are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced breast cancer disease. Regular mammography screening reduce the number of deaths from breast cancer by helping to detect the disease at an early stage. Although effective, the number of women engaging in repeat screening is low, and this is the case for women with a family history of breast cancer. Improving use of mammography screening and subseguently reducing breast cancer deaths will involve an understanding of psychological and neuropsychological factors impacting repeat mammography screenings. This project proposed to evaluate the relationship between psychological distress (anxiety and intrusive thoughts about breast cancer) and neuropsychological functioning (executive cognitive functioning) responsible for behavioral self-regulation on adherence to repeat use of screenings. To meet the objective, 112 women were proposed to be selected to participate in the study. The study has currently enrolled 37 participants, 18 adherers to mammography screening and 19 non-adherers. These participants completed a series of guestionnaires evaluating anxiety and intrusive thoughts and test of neuropsychological functioning. Once the full complement of participants has been tested, the scores on the psychological and neuropsychological instruments will be analyzed for both groups to assess relationships between executive cognitive functioning, anxiety, and adherence to repeat screenings.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA424030
Entities
People
- Sharon L. Steele
Organizations
- Howard University