Health attitudes

Little is known about breast health behaviors in Afro-Caribbean women (ACW) residing in the United States, as they are often included in the collective group of African American women (AAW). The objective of this study was to determine the influence of a spiritually-guided intervention on breast health self-care (BHSC) attitudes in ACW residing in southeastern Florida using a concurrent triangulation mixed methods design. One hundred and seventeen women were recruited from three local south Florida Caribbean churches. Inclusion criteria included: (a) self-identification as Afro-Caribbean, (b) female aged 30 years or older, (c) living in the United States for at least 1 year, (d) able to provide informed consent, (e) able to speak and read English at the 8th grade level, and (f) no previous history of breast cancer.

This study examined the relationship between ethnicity and parents' compliance with immunizations of their children. Recent studies have shown that compliance rates for immunizations of children who were two years of age were below the standards set by the American Academy of Pediatrics due to both health system barriers and family/child barriers. A survey of pediatric patients was conducted utilizing a convenience sample of 66 parents of children between the ages of twenty and twenty-eight months. The subjects were interviewed to determine factors affecting immunization compliance, including cultural factors consistent with the theoretical framework of Madeline Leininger. The statistical analysis of the sample responses revealed an ethnically diverse sample of two year old hospitalized children whose immunization compliance was 53%. No statistically significant correlations (≤0.05) were noted among the socioeconomic, system barriers, or educational barriers when compared among the ethnic groups in the study, however trends were demonstrated.

This descriptive comparative research study described the perceived susceptibility and seriousness of smoking-related diseases in young adults. In addition, the perceived benefits and barriers of young adults to quitting smoking were described. This study's framework was based on Rosenstock's Health Belief Model. A random sample of 264 students, ages 18-35, from a Southeastern university completed a 39-item questionnaire on the knowledge of the effects of smoking, perceived susceptibility and seriousness of smoking-related diseases, as well as the benefits and barriers to quitting smoking. There were significant differences between the smokers' and nonsmokers' responses in the following areas: knowledge of the effects of smoking, perceived seriousness of smoking-related diseases, as well as the benefits and barriers to quitting smoking. Smokers did not believe that smoking was as harmful as the nonsmokers believed it was. In the area of perceived susceptibility smokers and nonsmokers scored relatively similar scores.

Influenza is responsible for 20,000 deaths per year in the United States, with adults 65 and older accounting for most of these deaths. In this qualitative study, ten Haitian elders were interviewed in Creole and data were hand-written and simultaneously translated in English, to better understand their health beliefs regarding influenza immunizations. Purnell's model (1998) of Cultural Competence was utilized as organizing framework for description of the sample, analysis and discussion. Several themes emerged during thematic analysis of the participants' responses. Participants identified influenza as a "big cold" which can initially be prevented with traditional home remedies and practices as well as with prayers. Lack of knowledge of the vaccine, uncertainty of the effectiveness of the vaccine, reliance on the recommendations of their children, doctors, and as well as the researcher, and lack of access were all factors reported as affecting their acceptance of the vaccine.