Understanding How to Communicate Breast Cancer Risk Information to Young African American Women

This presentation will highlight an interdisciplinary approach to understanding and responding to the breast cancer education needs of young African American women. African American women continue to be disproportionately affected by breast cancer due to late diagnoses, higher mortality rates than Caucasian women and higher incidence before the age of 40. Researchers in the UNC Chapel Hill’s Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program (UNC BCERP) are conducting a five-year study, investigating how environmental factors affect basal-like breast cancer in African American women younger than 50. Staff in the UNC Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility’s Community Outreach and Engagement Core (COEC) serves as the Community Partner, working with BCERP researchers to incorporate emerging science into its breast cancer outreach materials and activities, for community audiences and professionals who conduct outreach to diverse audiences. UNC BCERP explored African American women’s knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about breast cancer through focus group discussions with 57 women, gaining an understanding of women’s perceptions of low breast-cancer susceptibility (Allicock et al., 2013). Conflicting messages about risk from “trusted” resources confused women, and most of them thought they lacked sufficient information on prevention, especially for African American women. The majority of participants identified electronic media as the most effective way to obtain information about breast cancer and other health issues, further emphasizing that health communications should be personally relevant, culturally appropriate, and convenient. This presentation will identify the target population’s concerns and the appropriate outreach tools that describe emerging breast cancer science, which include a partnership with researchers in the UNC School of Information and Library Science to design and pilot a web-based tool that educates younger African American women about basal-like breast cancer risk.