The prevalence and incidence of breast cancer is an important issue that is affecting all women, but African American women have the lowest survival rates after breast cancer diagnosis. Historically, the Black church and faith leaders have been essential in promoting health in the African American community. Moreover, faith-based interventions have become more common within the African American community in addressing factors that affect survival rates such as early detection, cultural barriers, and education. Currently, there is not clear information on the perspectives faith leaders have on their experiences with implementing breast health interventions in their places of worship. This phenomenological study used interpretivism as the conceptual framework to understand the experiences of the faith leaders of African American congregations who participated in Worship in Pink, a faith-based breast health program implemented among congregations in metropolitan Atlanta. The research questions sought to answer what faith leaders' experiences were with participating in this intervention and what situations or contexts may have influenced their experiences. In depth, semistructured interviews were administered to a sample of 5 faith leaders who participated in Worship in Pink. There were 3 themes and 1 subtheme that emerged because of the study. The themes included partnership with Komen Atlanta, increased awareness, impact on the community, and resources. The positive social change implications include knowledge useful for faith leaders, program developers, health policy makers, health educators, and other researchers who are seeking to understand experiences of faith leaders in order to improve breast health and awareness of African American women.

Background: Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and a leading cause of cancer death among females, both worldwide and in the UK. Although, UK incidence of breast cancer is rising, breast cancer mortality rates are falling, due largely to early detection and improved treatment. As a result there are more women living with a diagnosis of breast cancer than ever before. Due mainly to side-effects of adjuvant therapy, breast cancer patients may require diagnostic, therapeutic, supportive or palliative services many years post-diagnosis, which poses a major challenge to already stretched healthcare services. Accordingly, effective and inexpensive interventions that can alleviate treatment side-effects, improve health, quality of life and potentially reduce risk of early mortality are required for breast cancer patients. Awareness of the positive influence that physical activity can have on breast cancer development and outcome is an important determinant of physical activity levels. A higher level of physical activity before and after breast cancer diagnosis is related to a lower risk of all-cause and breast cancer-related mortality. Randomised controlled trials have reported beneficial effects of physical activity interventions on outcomes relating to health, quality of life and mortality risk among breast cancer survivors. Aims: The present project aimed to: 1) assess awareness of the role of physical activity on breast cancer risk and the sufficiency of physical activity undertaken in women attending the NHS breast screening programme (NHSBSP), 2) compare physical activity levels of women at different stages of breast cancer pathway, 3) investigate the effects of a low-cost six-month home-based physical activity intervention on physical activity, body mass, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), insulin resistance and blood lipid profiles of breast cancer survivors and 4) assess the effects of our home-based intervention on cardiorespiratory fitness in a subset of breast cancer survivors. Methods: A total of 309 volunteers (188 NHSBSP attendees, 41 breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and 80 post-treatment breast cancer survivors) participated in the current project. Physical activity was assessed via the International Physical activity Questionnaires (IPAQ). In studies one and two, Body mass and body mass index (BMI) were assessed directly in chemotherapy patients and breast cancer survivors, and indirectly from self-reported values in NHSBSP attendees. While in study three, body fat percentage was measured via bioelectrical impedance analysis, HRQoL was assessed using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B) questionnaire and fasting blood samples were taken to measure lipid, glucose and insulin concentrations at baseline and post-six month home-based physical activity intervention. In study four, a random subsample of 32 breast cancer survivors undertook an exercise tolerance test to establish peak oxygen uptake values. Results: A high proportion (70%) of NHSBSP attendees engaged in low-moderate levels of physical activity and performed low amounts of recreational physical activity. Attendees demonstrated high awareness (75%) of the role of physical activity in reducing breast cancer risk but those categorised as “low activity” were significantly unaware of insufficiency of activity (p<0.05). Chemotherapy patients and breast cancer survivors had significantly lower levels of total physical activity than NHSBSP attendees (p<0.001 and p<0.05, respectively). The randomised controlled trial revealed significant improvements in total physical activity, body mass (p<0.05), BMI (p<0.05) HRQoL (breast cancer subscale, p<0.01; trial outcome index, p<0.05) and total (p<0.01) and low-density lipoprotein (p<0.05) cholesterol concentrations in the intervention group compared to usual care, and significant improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness (p<0.05) in a subsample of breast cancer survivors allocated to intervention. Conclusions: Physical activity interventions that incorporate strategies aimed at increasing awareness of recommended physical activity guidelines may be required in populations at risk of breast cancer. A relatively large proportion of women at risk of breast cancer may not be sufficiently exposed to the potential benefits of physical activity on breast cancer outcomes. Post-treatment breast cancer patients may be more receptive to physical activity interventions as the negative effects of chemotherapy begin to resolve, and therefore, may benefit from physical activity interventions. Results suggest that a low-cost home-based physical activity intervention with counselling and telephone support can improve the health and HRQoL of breast cancer survivors, which may in turn potentially reduce risk of breast cancer and cardiovascular disease-related mortality. Given the encouraging results and its highly portable and feasible nature, our intervention represents a promising tool for use in health and community settings to benefit large numbers of breast cancer survivors. The current project supports the inclusion of physical activity promotion as an integral component for the management and care of breast cancer survivors.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T13:10:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fabiana Peixoto Giacon.pdf: 1109047 bytes, checksum: eb710562d02ea50738bcb24b201e825d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-04-25 / This study evaluated the perceptions of patients and health team that assists women with breast cancer (CAM) on the role of physical therapy, and to evaluate the functional capacity and recovery of patients on CAM before and after the intervention of physiotherapy and also analyzing the functional capability of women who were treated with CAM without the use of physiotherapy. Participants were divided into three groups, as follows: Group 1: group of 15 professionals treating women with CAM, and medical (3 mastologists and 3 of obstetric medical residents), three nurses, three nursing assistants and 3 psychologists; Group 2: the group was composed of 9 patients with CAM, has undergone surgery to treat the disease accompanied by physiotherapy Sorocabana League Against Cancer, Group 3: control group consisted of 9 patients already treated with CAM that had undergone surgical treatment, but that did not undergo physiotherapy. For this study, we sought to analyze the results for Group 1 and Group 2, based on the Discourse of the Collective Subject (DSC) and theoretical saturation (TS), as the statistical analysis of the quantitative results for the Group 2 and Group 3, were interpreted by the Wilcoxon test and analysis of variance Friedman. The results showed that professionals of Group 1 recognized the importance of the therapist as a member of this team, positively describing the role of physiotherapy in rehabilitation of patients in the postoperative period of CAM, yet it was possible to know the perceptions of patients, participant sin Group 2 on the post-surgical physiotherapy CAM, whose responses on physiotherapy, physical improvements were made objectively characterized by physical evolution, with significant differences in ROM, confirmed by goniometry and muscle strength, when compared to the assessment currently anticipated that the initiation of treatment with physiotherapy assessment after completion of all treatment provided by physiotherapy, as compared to patients who were treated with CAM without the intervention of physiotherapy, characterized some physical limitations associated with surgery CAM. It was possible to complete the important work of rehabilitation of patients with CAM, so the role of physiotherapy has been recognized by the medical field, but further studies are necessary to introduce other professional teams responsible for treating women with CAM and with this diagnostic work and benefits of therapy in these cases / Este estudo avaliou a percepção das pacientes e da equipe de saúde que assiste a mulher com câncer de mama (CAM) sobre o papel da fisioterapia, além de avaliar a capacidade funcional e a recuperação das pacientes em tratamento do CAM antes e após a intervenção da fisioterapia e analisando também a capacidade funcional de mulheres que foram tratadas de CAM sem a intervenção de fisioterapia. Os participantes foram divididos em três grupos, sendo eles: Grupo 1: grupo de 15 profissionais que atendem mulheres com CAM, sendo médicos (3 mastologistas e 3 médicos-residentes de tocoginecologia), 3 enfermeiras, 3 auxiliares de enfermagem e 3 psicóloga; Grupo 2: grupo que foi composto por 9 pacientes portadoras de CAM, já submetidas a cirurgia para tratamento da doença acompanhadas pela fisioterapia na Liga Sorocabana de Combate ao Câncer; Grupo 3: grupo controle que foi formado por 9 pacientes já tratadas de CAM que já haviam se submetido ao tratamento cirúrgico, mas que não realizaram o tratamento de fisioterapia. Neste estudo quali-quantitativo, buscou-se analisar os resultados qualitativos referentes ao Grupo 1 e Grupo 2, baseando-se no Discurso de Sujeito Coletivo (DSC) e por saturação teórica (ST), já a analise estatística dos resultados quantitativos referentes ao Grupo 2 e Grupo 3, foram interpretados através do Teste de Wilcoxon e pela análise de Variância de Friedman. Os resultados evidenciaram que os profissionais do Grupo 1 reconheceram a importância do fisioterapeuta como membro desta equipe, descrevendo de forma positiva o papel da fisioterapia na reabilitação das pacientes em pós-operatório de CAM, ainda foi possível conhecer a percepção das pacientes, participantes do Grupo 2, sobre a fisioterapia no pós-cirúrgico de CAM, cujas respostas sobre a fisioterapia, as melhoras físicas apresentadas foram caracterizadas objetivamente pela uma evolução física, com diferenças significativas na ADM, constatada pela goniometria e na força muscular, quando se comparou a avaliação no momento que antecipava o inicio do tratamento fisioterápico com a avaliação após o término de todo o tratamento realizado pela fisioterapia, já em relação as pacientes que foram tratadas de CAM sem a intervenção de fisioterapia, caracterizaram-se algumas sequelas e limitações físicas associadas à cirurgia do CAM. Foi possível concluir a importância do trabalho de reabilitação de pacientes com CAM, desta forma a atuação da fisioterapia vem sendo reconhecida pela área médica, porém novos estudos tornam-se necessários para apresentar aos outros profissionais das equipes responsáveis pelo tratamento de mulheres com CAM e às com este diagnóstico o trabalho e benefícios da fisioterapia nestes casos

<p dir="ltr">Infographics are increasingly used as visual communication tools for conveying health information to diverse audiences. However, research is lacking on how specific infographic design factors influence learning outcomes. This study aimed to determine the comparative effectiveness of automatically advanced (Group A) versus manually advanced (Group B) infographics for promoting breast cancer awareness and knowledge. A mixed-methods quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was utilized. The sample comprised 42 participants for analysis. Of these, the majority, 41 persons self-reported as female, with one participant indicating their gender as 'other.' Participant ages ranged from 25 to 55 years (M = 40.5, SD = 7.62). Most participants were well-educated, with graduate degrees or other advanced education beyond a bachelor's degree. Participants were randomly assigned to either the automatically advanced infographic group (Group A) or the manually advanced infographic group (Group B). Results indicated that Group B had significantly higher scores on the knowledge post-test compared to Group A, suggesting improved recall and comprehension of key information. There were no significant differences in cognitive load ratings or viewing duration between the groups. Qualitative feedback from participants suggested that Group B's manually advanced infographic facilitated better self-pacing and absorption of content. While the study's findings provide preliminary evidence supporting the efficacy of manually advanced infographics in learning complex health information, limitations are acknowledged. The research contributes to the design of patient education materials and underscores the necessity for further investigations across varied populations and health topics to understand the impact of infographic design more comprehensively on learning and behavior.</p>