 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Shanita Williams-Brown, PhD, MPH, APRN, BC, Surveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute, 6116 Executive Blvd, Suite 504, Bethesda, MD 20892-8316, 301-594-9613, browsha@mail.nih.gov and Dee M. Baldwin, PhD, Georgia's Office of Women's Health, 2 Peachtree Street, N. W., 34th Floor, Atlanta, GA 30303.
Background: Storytelling and spirituality are cultural values within the rural African American community that can be integrated into breast health curricula. Purpose: We explored the use of spiritual storytelling as an approach to teach rural African American women breast health information. Methods: A qualitative, focus group design was used to engage rural African American women in a mutual storytelling process whereby a parable text from the King James version of the Bible was read aloud to them. The participants were then asked the question, "What if anything does this story have to do with breast cancer and breast health"? Participants responded by citing stories that conveyed their personal interpretations of the meaning of the parables and its relation to breast health. Responses were audiotaped and transcribed for analysis. Results: Content analysis was used to identify story themes that emerged out of the focus-group data. The analysis revealed six story themes: hope, self-care, breaking the silence, belief in God and prayer, relevancy leads to action, and advocacy through teaching. Conclusions: Storytelling is an established teaching method that has been successfully used in culture-specific breast health education programs in African American communities. In this study, spiritual storytelling provided a forum in which rural African American women used Biblical text to attach meaning to breast health information.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Breast Cancer Programs, Rural Populations
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.