Improving breast cancer screening, education for minorities
African-American women are more likely than white women to be diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer and their death rates are significantly higher. One contributing factor is this: African-American women in Michigan receive fewer recommendations for routine mammograms to detect breast cancer in its early stages. Rosalie Young, PhD, associate professor of community medicine, is principal investigator on a grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation to improve breast cancer control for African Americans. There are many reasons mammography and clinical services are underutilized by this population, but Dr. Young believes programs need to be culturally and racially sensitive and they need to be offered in primary care settings where physicians can guide women to take the appropriate steps in seeking care. “Since lack of insurance and information about cancer control, fear of cancer diagnosis, perceived pain from the procedure, and low priority for mammography relative to other life issues are associated with non-participation of African Americans in cancer screening programs, they are clearly barriers to mammography use. Most, if not all of these barriers can be overcome,” said Dr. Young. The Wayne State University School of Medicine, in partnership with the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, has initiated cancer control programs for minority women--particularly African Americans, Mexican Americans and Arab Americans. There is an additional focus on patient-centered services which pay special attention to important needs including health insurance, transportation, access to primary care physicians, and awareness about available resources. Dr. Young is director of community-based research for the Morris J. Hood Jr. Comprehensive Diabetes Center. The center has programs for clinical care, community outreach, basic and medical science, research and community-based research.
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