Social Context of Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Barriers among Haitian Immigrant Women

BACKGROUND

Research has delineated various structural, socio-cultural, and economic barriers to breast and cervical cancer screening among medically underserved women in the US. However, little is known about the influence of such barriers on the screening practices of Haitian immigrant women, who are disproportionately diagnosed with advanced breast and cervical cancers when the prognosis for survival is poor.

OBJECTIVE

As part of an ongoing Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) initiative, we aimed to identify barriers to cancer screening in Little Haiti, the predominately Haitian neighborhood in Miami, Florida. Study findings will inform future intervention design and delivery.

METHODS

Towards this end, Community Health Workers (CHWs) conducted in-depth interviews with Haitian women residing in Little Haiti. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and then analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Emergent thematic categories were examined for interconnectedness in search of a model to describe barriers to screening among Haitian women.

RESULTS

Study findings revealed structural, economic, linguistic, and educational barriers to screening. Health was generally perceived as intrinsically connected to an individual's ability to work and the absence of physical symptoms. Women's perceptions of cancer etiology, and strategies for disease were largely informed by religious and cultural beliefs about morality and illness causation.

CONCLUSIONS

Haitian cultural constructions of cancer are unique and must be considered within a larger socio-political context. Efforts to attenuate cancer disparities in Little Haiti, and other similar ethnic enclaves, must be guided by a thorough understanding of such contexts and their impact on health behavior.