Breast cancer screening barriers among Arab women in the United States and Israel

3^rd World Congress on Women’s Health & Breast Cancer

October 03-05, 2016 London, UK

Kim Jaffee, Miri Cohen, Adnan Hammad and Faisal Azaiza

Wayne State University, USA
University of Haifa, Israel
Global Health Management & Solutions, Novi, Michigan, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Cancer Sci Ther

Abstract :

Breast cancer (BC) is the second most common cancer among women worldwide and in the US (CDC, 2012). Among Israeli and Arab women in Israel, BC is the most common malignancy, and between 1996 and 2007, BC mortality decreased significantly among Israeli women but remained stable among Arab women. Delayed diagnosis contributes to BC mortality among women in Middle Eastern countries (WHO, 2006), as well as in the US. A number of studies have suggested that cancer is diagnosed at later stages for Arab Americans and that prevention efforts should be better understood. Arab American women in Detroit were significantly less likely to receive a mammogram compared to all women in Michigan. Psychosocial factors associated with BC screening among Arab women includes fear of the screening process, fear of negative results, embarrassment and stigmatization, language barriers, lack of knowledge, transportation and economic barriers, cultural and religious barriers. There are no known studies comparing BC screening barriers for Arab women in Israel and the US. The current study compares cultural barriers to BC screening and cancer screening adherence among Arab women in the US and Israel. The sample consisted of 416 women- 77% (N=360) were Arab Israeli and 23% (N=90) were Arab American. Not only cultural barriers are significantly different among Arab American women compared to Israeli Arab women, but breast cancer cultural barriers are also significantly associated with adherence to screening guidelines.

Biography :

Email: kdjaffee@wayne.edu