The relevance of fatalism in the study of Latinas' cancer screening behavior: a systematic review of the literature.
BACKGROUND
Fatalism has been identified as a dominant belief among Latinos and is believed to act as a barrier to cancer prevention. However, controversy exists over the utility of the construct in explaining health disparities experienced by disadvantaged populations above the influence of structural barriers such as low socioeconomic status (SES) and limited access to health care.


OBJECTIVE
This paper reviews the empirical research on fatalism and Latinas' participation in cancer screening in an attempt to determine whether fatalism predicts participation in cancer screening after accounting for structural barriers.


METHODS
Google Scholar, ERIC, CINAHL, Medline, PsychINFO, ProQuest, PubMed, and PsychARTICLES were searched for empirical studies published prior to February 25, 2010.


RESULTS
A total of 43 articles were obtained and 11 met the inclusion criteria. The majority of studies (64%) reported a statistically significant association between fatalism and utilization of cancer screening services after accounting for structural barriers. However, mixed findings and limitations in measurement and design across studies preclude clear conclusions about the nature of the relationship.


CONCLUSIONS
Preliminary evidence for an inverse association between fatalism and Latinas' utilization of cancer screening services after accounting for structural barriers was identified. However, additional research that addresses methodological limitations is warranted to advance our understanding of the utility of fatalism in explaining inequities in cancer burden experienced by this at-risk group.
Espinosa de Los Monteros
Karla
K
SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego State University, 9245 Sky Park Court Suite 115, San Diego, CA 92123, USA.
Gallo
Linda C
LC
D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008327:Mammography / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control; D009780:Occult Blood; D014481:United States; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data