Ethnic influences on body awareness, trait anxiety, perceived risk, and breast and gynecologic cancer screening practices.
OBJECTIVE
To examine ethnic influences on body awareness, trait anxiety, perceived risk, and breast and gynecologic cancer screening practices.


METHODS
Descriptive, correlational secondary analysis.


METHODS
Urban and rural home and community populations.


METHODS
233 women: 138 (59%) Caucasian, 37 (17%) African American, 29 (12%) Hispanic, and 29 (12%) American Indian women (X = 46.86 years) were recruited through mailings, churches, and community organizations.


METHODS
Structured questionnaires.


METHODS
Body awareness, trait anxiety, perceived risk, and breast and gynecologic cancer screening practices.


RESULTS
Ethnicity predicted breast and gynecologic cancer screening practices (except clinical breast examination), body awareness, trait anxiety, and perceived risk. Hispanic and American Indian women reported greater breast self-examination frequency than Caucasian and African American women. Caucasian and African American women reported more mammogram use than Hispanic and American Indian women. Increased body awareness was related to fewer gynecologic exams for American Indian women.


CONCLUSIONS
Women of different ethnic backgrounds respond differently to breast and gynecologic cancer screening practices. The influence of psychosocial variables on these practices varied with different groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Nursing interventions to increase breast and gynecologic cancer screening should be ethnic-specific, with particular attention to the meaning of body awareness to American Indian women and trait anxiety and perceived risk to African American women.
Foxall
M J
MJ
Science Department, College of Nursing, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, USA. mfoxall@unmc.edu
Barron
C R
CR
Houfek
J F
JF
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000208:ethnology; D001828:Body Image; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016504:Breast Self-Examination; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D015146:Midwestern United States; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D010551:Personality; D010808:Physical Examination; D018570:Risk Assessment