Breast cancer screening behaviors and attitudes in three racial/ethnic groups

Data from a multiethnic sample of women participating in the American Cancer Society 1987 Texas Breast Screening Project was used to compare attitudes and behaviors related to breast cancer screening for whites, blacks, and Hispanics. In general, similar patterns of association were observed across racial/ethnic groups between a number of demographic and risk factors and prior mammography and recent clinical breast examination (CBE), although the magnitude of the associations varied somewhat across groups. Reasons for not having had prior mammography also were similar across groups, with lack of physician referral and cost cited as the two most important reasons. However, Hispanics were less likely than blacks or whites to report prior breast cancer screening, including mammography, CBE, and breast self-examination (BSE). This study demonstrated that women of different racial/ethnic backgrounds can be successfully recruited to participate in a patient-initiated, community-based program. However, this programmatic approach requires augmentation with other intervention strategies designed to reach low-income women because women with more years of education and higher family income were overrepresented in all three groups.