Although there has been an increasing incidence of breast cancer among Non-English
speaking background (NESB) women in many developed countries, existing screening
services are being underused by these women. Studies show that the barriers to the
accessibility of breast cancer screening by NESB women include their lack of awareness, low
level of education, low self-efficacy and lack of social interaction with other women. This
study aimed to investigate the knowledge relating to breast cancer and mammography, self-efficacy
and barriers to mammography use among NESB women in an Australian regional
city before and after their attendance at a health education session. This health education
session aimed to increase the awareness and use of mammography among these NESB
women. Two widely used behaviour theories, Health belief model and Social Cognitive
Theory, were applied as the theoretical framework for this study.
A quasi-experimental study was conducted in which the health education session was
used as an intervention. Pre-test and post-test questionnaires were completed by study
participants before and after the health education session. Their knowledge of breast cancer
and mammography was assessed. In addition, their self-efficacy and barriers to the use of
mammography were also analysed.
Results indicated that informal recruitment strategies were more effective with these
NESB women. Initially 49 women were recruited. Of these, 23 women (47%) attended the
health education session. As data showed tertiary educated and employed women who already
had mammogram/s were more likely to attend the session. After attending the health education
session, the womens knowledge relating to breast cancer and mammography was improved
and the perceived barriers to the use of mammography were reduced. During a three month
follow-up period, there was no change of mammogram use by the women. However, the
results showed a trend of increased intention to use the mammogram over a period of two
years (41.7%) compared to six months (25.0%). Based on these results, further studies are
recommended to explore the beneficial outcomes of health promotion programs targeting
NESB women who are not in the workforce or have a low level of education.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/217306 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Ferdous, Tabassum, t.ferdous@cqu.edu.au |
| Publisher | Central Queensland University. Department of Nursing and Health Studies |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.library.cqu.edu.au/cqulibrary/disclaimer.htm), Copyright Tabassum Ferdous |
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