Health belief model factors in mammography screening: testing for interactions among subpopulations of Caribbean women.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the implementation of health belief models in breast cancer screening and elucidate its potential to offer avenues for intervention among variables that may be easily amenable to change.


METHODS
The relations between three major cognitive factors-cancer knowledge, perceived personal risk, and beliefs about treatment efficacy-and mammography utilization were examined by using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and regression analyses.


METHODS
A large sample of women (N=1364) between 50 and 70 years of age. The women were of six ethnicities: US-born European Americans, US-born African Americans, Dominicans, Haitians, English-speaking Caribbeans, and Eastern Europeans.


RESULTS
All three variables were significantly associated with screening behavior in zero-order correlations. However, only perceived risk and treatment efficacy remained significant in multiple regressions controlling for background variables. Perhaps most importantly, while there were mean-level differences in the cognitive variables across the six groups, only one of the 15 interaction terms was significant, attesting to the generalizable effect of these health belief variables upon screening behavior in understudied groups of minority women.


CONCLUSIONS
The results are discussed in the context of health belief models and implications for interventions tailored to the health belief profiles characterizing women from each group are presented.
Consedine
Nathan S
NS
Psychology Department, Long Island University, 1 University Plaza, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA. nconsedi@liu.edu
Magai
Carol
C
Horton
David
D
Neugut
Alfred I
AI
Gillespie
Michael
M
D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017691:Caribbean Region / Q000208:ethnology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology; D009519:New York City; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012306:Risk; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology