ASPO Abstracts
Geospatial Patterns of Cancer-related Behaviors Among a National Sample of African American Men and Women
Category: Cancer Health Disparities, Behavioral Science & Health Communication
Conference Year: 2018
Abstract Body:
Breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers disproportionately affect African Americans compared to other population groups. Racial and ethnic disparities also exist in the uptake of cancer risk (e.g., tobacco use, heavy drinking) and prevention/control behaviors (e.g., lifestyle factors, cancer screening) that may negatively impact cancer outcomes. A multitude of factors predict individuals’ likelihood of adopting these behaviors, spanning environmental, interpersonal, and intrapersonal factors. The present analysis describes the geospatial patterns of cancer-related behaviors in a national probability-based sample of African American adults (N=3,173) collected in 41 states in the United States. The Religion and Health in African Americans (RHIAA) study aimed to test theoretical mechanisms of the religion-health connection, but also collected a wide variety of psychosocial and health-related data. Participant-level data were collected on screening for breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer. Lifestyle behaviors related to cancer prevention were also collected including physical activity levels, fruit and vegetable consumption, tobacco use, and alcohol consumption. Census tract-level data on education, median household income, home ownership, and urbanization were mapped in association with these participant-level outcomes to provide geospatial context. Analysis of geospatial patterns reveals insights into the relationships between the sample data and these contexts, providing a foundation for neighborhood-level understanding of these relationships. It is important to understand social determinants of a variety of cancer-related behaviors, particularly among African Americans, in order to appropriately target interventions. Future work examining the moderating role ‘place-based’ psychosocial resources (e.g., neighborhood social capital) with respect to cancer prevention behaviors would extend these findings.
Keywords: cancer risk behaviors; cancer prevention/control behaviors; geospatial patterns; African Americans