Studies Released At Cancer Disparities Conference Examine Women's Health Issues

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology;  Cervical Cancer / HPV Vaccine;  Breast Cancer
Article Date: 10 Feb 2009 - 3:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

The following summarizes news coverage of women's health-related studies presented last week at the American Association for Cancer Research's Science of Cancer Health Disparities conference in Carefree, Ariz.

~ HPV vaccine: Only one in four eligible black girls has received the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil, although most of the black community believes that the vaccine is safe, according to a survey by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Health, HealthDay/USA Today reports. Among the 71 respondents -- most of whom were black -- many said they believe Gardasil is "safe," "effective" and a "wise choice." Forty-five parents or guardians of the girls had the same views, but most could not recall being informed of the vaccine's availability by their health care provider. In addition, nearly 44% of the girls who had not been vaccinated said they would likely do so soon (McKeever, HealthDay/USA Today, 2/5).

~ Mammograms: Mistrust of the health care system might cause minority women to delay breast cancer screening, according to researchers from Michigan State University, Reuters Health reports. Researcher Karen Williams and colleagues examined medical mistrust and breast cancer screening rates among 116 black, 113 Hispanic and 112 Arab-American women. Among those surveyed, 49% believed that health care organizations sometimes "mislead" or "deceive" patients, with black women having the highest level of mistrust. Forty-four percent of women who had never received a clinical breast exam agreed that "health care organizations have sometimes done harmful experiments without our knowledge." Ninety-four percent of the black women were insured, compared with 45% of Hispanics and 43% of Arab-American women. Williams said that while insurance status plays a significant role in breast cancer screening, the link between medical mistrust and low screening rates cannot be discounted (Rauscher, Reuters Health, 2/5).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

• Additional
• References
• Citations