Abstract
Communication with healthcare providers, family, and friends is associated with increased mammography use. Less is known about the abnormal mammogram experience, especially in terms of the interval between screening and follow-up appointments (time to follow-up) and psychological distress. The impact of communication may vary across ethnicity, depending on cultural emphases placed on interpersonal relationships. The current study’s objectives were to (a) explore the role of family/friend and provider communication with regard to time to follow-up and distress and (b) examine if family/friend and provider communication moderates associations between ethnicity and these outcomes. A convenience-based sample of 41 Latina and 41 non-Latina White (NLW) women who had received an abnormal mammogram result was recruited from Washington State. Women who discussed results with providers had a shorter time to follow-up, although this was not significant when including health insurance. A significant interaction between conversations with family/friends and ethnicity was found: Latinas who did not have conversations with family/friends had particularly elevated psychological distress relative to NLW women and slightly more than other Latinas. This exploratory study suggests health communication with providers and family/friends is important for timely receipt of follow-up care and reduced distress among women who receive an abnormal mammogram result, which has implications for cancer education intervention development and adaptation. Larger, population-based research is necessary to confirm these findings.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ramirez AG, Pérez-Stable EJ, Penedo FJ, Talavera GA, Carrillo JE, Fernandez ME, Holden AEC, Munoz E, San Miguel S, Gallion K (2013) Navigating Latinas with breast screen abnormalities to diagnosis. Cancer 119(7):1298–1305
Molina Y, Beresford SAA, Espinoza N, Thompson B (2014) Psychological distress, social withdrawal, and coping following receipt of an abnormal mammogram among Latina and non-Latina White women: a mediation model. Oncol Nurs Forum 41:525–532
Molina Y, Yi JC, Martinez-Gutierrez J, Yi-Frazier J, Redding K, Rosenberg AR (2014) Resilience among patients across the cancer continuum: diverse perspectives. Clin J Oncol Nurs 18:93–101
Berkman LF, Glass T (2000) Social integration, social networks, social support, and health. In: Berkman LF, Kawachi I (eds) Social Epidemiology. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 137–173
Chen JM, Kim HS, Mojaverian T, Morling B (2012) Culture and social support provision: Who gives what and why. Pers Soc Psychol Bull 38:3–13
Heaney CA, Israel BA (2008) Social networks and social support. In: Glanz K, Rimer BK, Viswanath K (eds) Health behavior and health education. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA
Kroenke CH, Kwan ML, Neugut AI, Ergas IJ, Wright JD, Caan BJ, Hershman DL, Kushi LH (2013) Social networks, social support mechanisms, and quality of life after breast cancer diagnosis. Breast Cancer Res Treat 139:515–527
Katapodi MC, Facione NC, Dodd MJ, Waters C (2002) The influence of social support on breast cancer screening in a multicultural community sample. Oncol Nurs Forum 29:845–852
Gonzalez P, Borrayo EA (2011) Role of physician involvement on Latinas’ mammography screening adherence. Womens Heatlh Issues 21:165–170
Molina Y, Martinez-Gutierrez J, Puschel K, Thompson B (2013) Mammography use in Chile: the role of self-efficacy and provider, family, and friend recommendations. Health Educ Res 28:784–792
Lown BA, Roy E, Gorman P, Sasson JP (2009) Women’s and residents’ experiences of communication in the diagnostic mammography suite. Patient Educ Couns 77(3):328–337
Perez-Stable EJ, Afable-Munsuz A, Kaplan CP, Pace L, Samayoa C, Somkin CP, Nickleach D et al (2013) Factors influencing time to diagnosis after abnormal mammography in diverse women. J Women’s Health 22:159–166
Poon EG, Haas JS, Puopolo AL, Gandhi TK, Burdick E, Bates DW, Brennan TA (2004) Communication factors in the follow-up of abnormal mammograms. J Gen Intern Med 19(4):316–323
Carney PA, Kettler M, Cook AJ, Geller BM, Karliner LS, Miglioretti DL, Bowles EA, Buist DS, Gallagher TH, Elmore JG (2009) An assessment of the likelihood, frequency, and content of verbal communication between radiologists and women receiving screening and diagnostic mammography. Acad Radiol 16:1056–1063
Marin G, VanOss Marin B (1991) Research with Hispanic populations. Sage Publications Newbury Park, CA
Tejeda S, Darnell JS, Cho YI, Stolley MR, Markossian TW, Calhoun EA (2013) Patient barriers to follow-up care for breast and cervical cancer abnormalities. J Women’s Health 22:507–518
Allen JD, Shelton RC, Harden E, Goldman RE (2008) Follow-up of abnormal screening mammograms among low-income ethnically diverse women: Findings from a qualitative study. Patient Educ Couns 72:283–292
Ferrante JM, Chen P-H, Kim S (2007) The effect of patient navigation on time to diagnosis, anxiety, and satisfaction in urban minority women with abnormal mammograms: a randomized controlled trial. J Urban Health 85:114–125
Weiss, DS (2007) The Impact of Event Scale: Revised. In Cross-Cultural Assessment of Psychological Trauma and PTSD, eds. J.P. Wilson, and C. So-kum Tang, 219–238. International and Cultural Psychology Series: Springer US
Moncayo FL, Requena GC (2007) Propiedades psicométricas de la escala revisada del impacto del evento estresante (IES-R) en una muestra española de pacientes con cáncer. Anál Modif Conducta 33(149):5
Sundin EC, Horowitz MJ (2002) Impact of event scale: psychometric properties. Br J Psychiatry 180(3):205–209. doi:10.1192/bjp.180.3.205
Frazier PA, Tix AP, Baron KE (2004) Testing moderator and mediator effects in counseling psychology research. J Couns Psychol 51:115–134
Austin LT, Ahmad F, McNally M-J, Stewart DE (2002) Breast and cervical screening in Hispanic women: a literature review using the Health Belief Model. Womens Health Issues 12:122–129
Burke NJ, Joseph G, Pasick RJ, Barker JC (2009) Theorizing social context: Rethinking behavioral theory. Health Educ Behav 36:55S–70S
Keating NL, O’Malley JA, Murabito JM, Smith KP, Christakis NA (2011) Minimal social network effects evident in cancer screening behavior. Cancer 1117:3045–3052
Karliner LS, Ma L, Hofman M, Kerlikowske K (2012) Language barriers, location of care, and delays in follow-up of abnormal mammograms. Med Care 50:171–178
Karliner LS, Kaplan CP, Juarbe T, Pasick R, Pérez-Stable EJ (2005) Poor patient comprehension of abnormal mammography results. J Gen Intern Med 20(5):432–437
Arnsberger P, Fox P, Ryder P, Nussey B, Zhang X, Otero-Sabogal R (2006) Timely follow-up among multicultural women with abnormal mammograms. Am J Health Behav 30(1):51–61
Lara M, Gamboa C, Kahramanian MI, Morales LS, Bautista DEH (2005) Acculturation and Latino health in the United States: a review of the literature and its sociopolitical context. Ann Rev Public Health 26:367–397
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Noah Espinoza for technical support. The current project was funded in part by multiple National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute grants (P50CA148143, R25CA92408). Y.M. was supported by the University of Illinois Cancer Center and the University of Illinois-Chicago Center for Research on Women and Gender. The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private ones of the authors and are not considered as official or reflecting the views of the National Institutes of Health.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Molina, Y., Beresford, S.A.A., Hayes Constant, T. et al. Conversations about Abnormal Mammograms on Distress and Timely Follow-up Across Ethnicity. J Canc Educ 32, 320–327 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-015-0918-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-015-0918-9