Jacqueline S. Marshall
Published: 2015
Total Pages: 172
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Little is known about breast health behaviors in Afro-Caribbean women (ACW) residing in the United States, as they are often included in the collective group of African American women (AAW). The objective of this study was to determine the influence of a spiritually-guided intervention on breast health self-care (BHSC) attitudes in ACW residing in southeastern Florida using a concurrent triangulation mixed methods design. One hundred and seventeen women were recruited from three local south Florida Caribbean churches. Inclusion criteria included: (a) self-identification as Afro-Caribbean, (b) female aged 30 years or older, (c) living in the United States for at least 1 year, (d) able to provide informed consent, (e) able to speak and read English at the 8th grade level, and (f) no previous history of breast cancer. The research approach adopted in this dissertation is a concurrent triangulation mixed methods design. Key findings included statistically significant relationships between (a) the scripture-guided intervention and scores on the Cancer Attitude Inventory (CAI) post-test (p = .002) and (b) reported age and education (r=.515), employment (r=.594), income (r=.143), and knowledge (r=.366). Additionally, as reported employment increased, breast cancer knowledge decreased (r=.348, p.01). There were no significant relationships between reported family history and participants' knowledge (r=-.028, p.05), or between the Religious Commitment Inventory (RCI), the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS), and attitudes (p=.657). Three major themes emerged from the focus group discussions exploring participant attitudes toward breast cancer: (a) breached credibility, (b) generational silence, and (c) shared responsibility. These findings support the effectiveness of spiritually-guided interventions on breast health self-care for Afro-Caribbean women and the importance of preparing nurses to incorporate spirituality into patient assessment and plans of care. Further research is needed to refine collaborative, nurse-led spiritually-guided breast health self-care interventions, and to inform policy development related to culturally-sensitive breast health self-care initiatives in minority populations.