Objective: Despite the benefits of hormonal therapy (HT) adherence remains suboptimal in ER positive breast cancer patients. Medication adherence is challenging to assess and tends to be overestimated. The Digital Health Feedback System (DHFS) consists of an ingestible sensor attached to a pill that sends intake date and time to a smart phone or computer. Patients can share this information with health care providers and other persons. The DHFS can also send reminders. This mixed methods study examined providers' perceptions of HT medication adherence. The potential role of the DHFS in enhancing medication tracking and adherence was also explored. Methods:We conducted semi-structured interviews with key informants (N=10). Questions examined perceptions about adherence barriers and facilitators, challenges tracking adherence, and views on the DHFS. Findings informed the development of a survey that was administered online (N=19).Results: Providers emphasized the importance of fostering open and trustful communication around adherence. The most mentioned challenges to assessing adherence were the patient not disclosing discontinuation immediately (78.9%) and over-reporting adherence (57.9%). The perceived potential benefits of DHFS were the ability to track adherence better (94.7%) and reminders to take the medication (68.4%). Safety to ingest a sensor was as a major perceived barrier (8 4.2%).

Social media messages and conversations provide an opportunity to study what users post about cancer risk and preventive behaviors. Personal stories of early detection, treatment, and survivorship are often shared. The purpose of this study was to examine the hereditary breast cancer-focused posts on the understudied visual social media platform Pinterest. Using systematic random sampling, n = 500 Pinterest posts (referred to as "pins") were collected using the keywords "breast cancer" and "genetic testing" in the late 2017. Using a quantitative content analysis, pins were coded for a variety of categories including poster identity, pin characteristics and content, the presence of Health Belief Model constructs, and engagement variables (i.e., repins/ saves and comments). The primary findings of this study reveal that most pins were published by individuals and relatively few messages contained specific information about genetic testing. Study results also describe how Pinterest users interact with the content, including higher engagement with information-rich visuals and traditional breast cancer awareness symbols. The information gained from this study may serve as the foundation for better understanding how social media can be used to communicate with women about heritable breast health-related cancers, risks, and protective behaviors. Study results prompt practical recommendations for public health organizations interested in reaching women seeking information about heritable breast cancer on Pinterest.

Black women at-risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) continue to underutilize genetic counseling and testing (GCT). One reason for this disparity is a fear of discrimination from insurance companies if identified as high-risk. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) was enacted to protect against this type of discrimination; however, Black women’s levels of confidence in this law are unknown. In this descriptive study, we sought to (1) assess Black women’s confidence in the GINA law and (2) identify multilevel factors related to their confidence in GINA. Ninety-four Black women at-risk of HBOC completed surveys that assessed intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural factors. Multiple regression analysis determined factors associated with confidence in GINA. Most women were ≤50 years of age (66.0%) and about half never had a cancer diagnosis (51.1%). Confidence in GINA was moderate (mean = 10.67; standard deviation = 2.54; range = 5–15). Women who valued GCT reported more confidence in GINA (β = 0.345; CI 0.017 to 0.673; p = 0.040). Lack of confidence in GINA may serve as a barrier to seeking GCT. Efforts to increase the perceived value of GCT among Black women could be benefited by increasing awareness of national efforts towards privacy protections of genetic information.

Little is known about how triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is discussed on the visual social media platform, Instagram. A greater understanding of the experiences of TNBC survivors that are documented on this platform may inform us of how this group of survivors cope with this rare, but aggressive form of breast cancer. This study analyzed a random sample ( N = 501) of Instagram posts using the hashtag #triplenegativebreastcancer. Using a quantitative content analysis, posts were coded for the presence of health belief model constructs as well as the presence of treatment-related experiences, social support, and hereditary breast cancer genetic mutations (BRCA 1/2). Our findings suggest that health organizations and agencies are not utilizing Instagram as a conduit of health communications about TNBC to reach individuals worldwide. This article provides insights into potential strategies that can be used by these entities to promote user engagement with posts about TNBC, such as utilizing health messaging that is episodic in nature, uses supportive and encouraging words, and provides information about chemotherapy.

Background: Academic-community partnerships form the backbone of communitybased participatory research. This partnership often supports the hiring and training of community members in the role of community researcher. A community researcher's role is extensive, ranging from specific research tasks to various planned and unplanned community outreach and engagement activities. This paper seeks to expand current insights about engaging community members in the role of community researcher within the context of an academic-community partnership. Objectives:The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore community member motivations to serve in this role and more fully understand the varied tasks, both planned and opportunistic, that may be associated with their embedded, insider role.Method: Conducted thematic qualitative data analysis using three data sources: 1) community researcher applications, 2) meetings, and 3) bi-monthly reports.Results: Community researchers (N = 24) demonstrated a strong personal passion and interest in both the research content area of obesity and improving community health outcomes. The bi-monthly report data documents their wide range of administrative, research, and outreach activities. The meeting notes provide in-depth insights into the complexities and challenges associated with research and outreach tasks. Conclusion:The role of the community researcher traverses well beyond prescribed data collection and research functions. Academic-community partnerships need to be intentional to ensure that policies and practices are inclusive and appropriately demonstrate the community researcher's valuable role.