Breast Cancer Prevention Education

We will develop and evaluate a community-based approach for disseminating comparative
effective reviews (CERs) about breast cancer prevention to African American women. The
specific aims of our research, as shown below, will target this population because of
persistent disparities in breast cancer morbidity and mortality among this population. Our
primary aims are:

1. To evaluate uptake of a community-based strategy for disseminating CERs about breast
cancer prevention to African American women based on sociodemographic characteristics,
beliefs about medical research, and medical history. We predict that participation in a
community forum will be higher among women with greater socioeconomic resources, those
who have a family history of breast cancer, and women who have more positive beliefs
about research.

2. To evaluate the impact of evidential versus non-evidential content about breast cancer
prevention on psychological and behavioral outcomes that include: knowledge of breast
cancer risk factors and prevention strategies, communication with individuals in their
social and medical network, and distrust of medical research. We predict that women who
receive evidential content that is specific for African American women will report
greater knowledge about breast cancer risk factors and prevention strategies, will be
more likely to discuss breast cancer prevention strategies with individuals in their
social and medical network, and will report greater reductions in distrust of medical
research compared to those who receive non-evidential content.