 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Kimlin T. Ashing-Giwa, PhD1, Judith S. Tejero, MPH1, Marjorie Kagawa-Singer, RN, MN, PhD2, and Geraldine V. Padilla, PhD3. (1) Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Center for Culture and Health, UCLA, 760 Westwood Plaza, Box 62, Los Angeles, CA 90024, (2) School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Box 951772, Los Angeles, CA 90095, (3) School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, 2 Koret Way, N337, Box 0604, San Francisco, CA 94143-0604
Background: While cervical cancer incidence and morality rates have declined for Caucasians, Hispanic and Asian American women continue to have the highest risks for developing cervical cancer. Research on cancer survivors°¯ quality of life indicates that psychosocial and medical concerns may persist, such as complications related to surgery and therapy. It has been suggested that increasing health promoting behaviors may alleviate treatment-related sequelae and risk for other diseases. Cancer may serve as a motivator for health behavior change. Purpose: To examine lifestyle and health behavior changes among cervical cancer survivors (CCS). Methods: As part of a larger study on CCS°¯ quality of life, participants were recruited from the California Cancer Registry and surveyed on health-related behavior changes made since their cancer diagnosis, as well as pap screening behaviors before and after diagnosis. Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted. Results: The sample (N=162) was primarily Caucasian (43.8%) and Latina (38.3%), with some African Americans (8.0%) and Asian Americans (9.9%). Participants were diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer (stage I-III) and a mean of 4.19 years post-diagnosis. Almost 60% reported lifestyle changes, including diet, exercise, stress reduction and alternative medicine. Fifty-seven percent reported obtaining pap-tests before the cancer diagnosis. Almost all (93.8%) reported regular pap-tests post-diagnosis. Lifestyle changes were associated with insurance status (p=0.006), education level (p=0.034) and ethnicity (p=0.006); obtaining regular pap-tests after diagnosis was associated with education level (p=0.018). Conclusions: Results suggest that ethnic and socioecological factors influence lifestyle and health behavior change among CCS.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Cervical Cancer, Health Behavior
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.