GeographyPerceptions of One's Neighborhood and Mammogram Use among a Sample of Low-Income Women at Risk for Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Sexually Transmitted Infections
Section snippets
Methods
Data for this study were collected from participants in the CHAT study, a social network-oriented HIV prevention intervention. Participants were recruited through street outreach, newspaper advertisements, and referrals from community agencies. Because the focus of the parent study was on HIV prevention peer education, two types of study participants (Index and Network) were enrolled in the study. Inclusion criteria for index participants were female, aged 18 to 55 years old, did not inject
Results
Among women age 40 to 49 years, 66.1% (n = 154) reported getting a mammogram. Approximately 38% (n = 89) received a mammogram in the past year. Among women 50 years and older, 81.9% (n = 68) reported receiving a mammogram, of which 43.8% (n = 39) got it done in the past year. Sample characteristics are shown in Table 1. Among this low employment and income sample, more than one-half of respondents reported using any heroin or cocaine in the past 6 months. The vast majority of women reported
Discussion
In this study, we explored contextual effects on obtaining a mammogram among women in their 40s and 50 years and older. Living in an area with neighborhood disorder decreased the likelihood of women 50 years and older reporting that they had received a mammogram. There was no association for women 40 to 49 years old.
Our study expanded the literature on geography and mammography by focusing on perceptions of disorder in one's neighborhood rather than geographical location. Perceiving disorder in
Implications for Practice and/or Policy
Bowie, Wells, Juon, Sydnor, and Rodriguez (2008) found that being knowledgeable about screening guidelines increased the likelihood of getting a mammogram among women age 40 and older. Interventions are needed to increase awareness about the importance of cancer screening. Health care and social service providers may a crucial role in continuously encourage women to get a mammogram.
Other interventions are also promising. A recent review by Gardner, Adams, and Jeffreys (2013) found interventions
Melissa A. Davey-Rothwell, PhD, CHES, is Associate Scientist in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her research focuses on social and contextual influences on health including the role of norms and the neighborhood environment.
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Melissa A. Davey-Rothwell, PhD, CHES, is Associate Scientist in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her research focuses on social and contextual influences on health including the role of norms and the neighborhood environment.
Janice Bowie, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her research examines factors associated with health disparities and community-based participatory research.
Laura Murray, BA, BSN, was a research assistant in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She recently received her nursing degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing.
Carl A. Latkin, PhD, is Professor, Department of Health, Behavior and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. His current research interests include U.S. and international approaches to behavior change, social network analysis, and neighborhood factors associated with health behaviors.
Research Support: Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Mental Health (grant# R01 MH66810 and 1K01MH096611-01A1), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01 DA016555) and the Johns Hopkins Center for AIDS Research (1P30AI094189). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.