Breast Cancer Puzzle: Using Electronic Media to Communicate Breast Cancer Risk Information to Young African American Women

Despite progress in screening, diagnosis and treatment of women with breast cancer, African American women continue to be disproportionately affected by breast cancer, with higher mortality rates than Caucasian women and higher incidence before the age of 40. Recent findings with focus groups of young African American women conducted by the UNC Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program (BCERP) indicate that they use the Internet and other technology to gather health information, but there are few web-based resources available to women about breast cancer risk and subtypes like basal-like breast cancer that are more common among the target population. To address the need for web-based resources to educate young African American women about basal-like breast cancer risk, the UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) is collaborating with UNC BCERP to develop, pilot test and disseminate an interactive website that will inform women about risk factors and risk reduction steps. With SILS expertise in health informatics and an explicit engagement mission motivated by the recognition that information is socially embedded in culture, this tool will enhance the translational efforts of entities like UNC BCERP while also furthering communication and outreach abilities for health professionals and breast cancer advocates throughout this nation striving to improve health outcomes for a disparate population of women. During the poster presentations, conference participants will be able to pilot test the website, which incorporates videos of African American breast cancer survivors, their loved ones and UNC physicians, addressing women’s claims of an absence of African American women depicted in media-based materials and public events on breast cancer and also claims of inconsistent messaging from health care providers. The site’s built-in analytics enable personalization so that women can better understand their unique risk factor profiles.