Associations Between Religion-Related Factors and Breast Cancer Screening Among American Muslims

Abstract

American Muslims have low rates of mammography utilization, and research suggests that religious values influence their health-seeking behaviors. We assessed associations between religion-related factors and breast cancer screening in this population. A diverse group of Muslim women were recruited from mosques and Muslim organization sites in Greater Chicago to self-administer a survey incorporating measures of fatalism, religiosity, discrimination, and Islamic modesty. 254 surveys were collected of which 240 met age inclusion criteria (40 years of age or older). Of the 240, 72 respondents were Arab, 71 South Asian, 59 African American, and 38 identified with another ethnicity. 77 % of respondents had at least one mammogram in their lifetime, yet 37 % had not obtained mammography within the past 2 years. In multivariate models, positive religious coping, and perceived religious discrimination in healthcare were negatively associated with having a mammogram in the past 2 years, while having a PCP was positively associated. Ever having a mammogram was positively associated with increasing age and years of US residency, and knowing someone with breast cancer. Promoting biennial mammography among American Muslims may require addressing ideas about religious coping and combating perceived religious discrimination through tailored interventions.

Developing culturally informed genetic services for the Somali immigrants in Minnesota

“…Informants' views about God's will and predetermination are consistent with other studies that focused on associations between religion and health (Padela et al, 2015). Overall our findings support that religion displays an influential role in the community's attitudes and perception toward genetics and genetic service delivery.…”

“…Some KIs indicated that the community has a knowledge gap about genetics and have anecdotal beliefs of associating health/genetic conditions to the Islamic faith rather than medical/scientific explanations. Informants’ views about God's will and predetermination are consistent with other studies that focused on associations between religion and health (Padela et al, ). Overall our findings support that religion displays an influential role in the community's attitudes and perception toward genetics and genetic service delivery.…”

Does transpersonal trust moderate the association between chronic conditions and general practitioner visits in the oldest old? Results of the AgeCoDe and AgeQualiDe study

“…Other studies exist that examined the link between religion or spirituality and health screening behavior [37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46] as well as mental health service utilization. [47][48][49] These studies mainly showed that these explanatory variables were associated with greater use of preventive care services, whereas they were associated with decreased utilization of professional mental health services.…”

I Do Not Even Say "It" - a Mixed Methods Study on Breast Cancer Awareness of Omani Women

“…Scoring on this scale would allow public health authorities in the country to incorporate the awareness that the disease is likely to be treated and possibly cured if detected in a timely manner (Padela et al, 2015), since fatalism forms part of the most rigid system in the enabling systems model. Several studies have found that culturally-sensitive breast cancer education programmes can have a significant impact on changing knowledge and beliefs about breast cancer (Hall et al, 2005;Bickell et al, 2009).…”