title: Racial/Ethnic Differences in Women's Experiences with Symptomatic Uterine Fibroids: a Qualitative Assessment.
abstract: The purpose of this study is to determine racial/ethnic differences in treatment experiences and expectations among women with fibroids.
  
  
  
  Sixty women with symptomatic uterine fibroids completed semi-structured interviews, demographic surveys, and a health literacy assessment. Participants were recruited from community-based organizations and health care organizations. Data from interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Three coders identified major themes and subthemes.
  
  
  
  The kappa (κ) among coders was 0.94. The mean age of participants was 43.0 ± 6.8 (mean ± SD). A total of 61.7 % of subjects were African-American (AAW), 25.0 % were non-Hispanic White (WW), 8.3 % were Hispanic (HW), and 5.0 % were Asian (ASW). When considering treatment options, AAW were more likely to want a permanent intervention. They were also more likely to demonstrate an aversion toward conventional treatments. Of the women who received a surgical intervention, AAW were also more likely to have had a difficult recovery and to be dissatisfied with their treatment. Finally, AAW disproportionately expressed concern regarding financial challenges.
  
  
  
  AAW have high treatment expectations, have more financial obstacles, and are less satisfied with their treatment outcomes than women of other racial/ethnic groups. Our findings suggest a need to create targeted patient interventions and education to ameliorate these disparities in experience.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Sengoba
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
authors.forename: Marissa S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Ghant
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
authors.forename: Ijeoma
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Okeigwe
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
authors.forename: Gricelda
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mendoza
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA. erica-marsh@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Erica E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Marsh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D001213:Asian; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D066296:Grounded Theory; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000208:ethnology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D007348:Insurance, Health; D007889:Leiomyoma / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000208:ethnology*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D063186:Uterine Myomectomy; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D044465:White People
keywords: Fibroids; Health disparities; Interviews; Qualitative; Race