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Barriers to Breast Cancer Screening Among Haitian Immigrant Women in Little Haiti, Miami

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Abstract

Previous research has not examined barriers to mammography screening among Haitian immigrant women through their own discourse. Community Health Workers conducted in-depth interviews with Haitian women in Little Haiti, Miami. We used a grounded theory approach to analyze data from the in-depth interviews. Emergent themes coalesced into three core categories of screening barriers: Structural, Psychosocial, and Socio-Cultural. We developed a model of screening barriers to depict the themes within each core category. Screening barriers must be examined and understood from the social contexts in which they are produced in order to create meaningful interventions.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the women who took part in this study, and to the insightful CHWs who conducted and transcribed the interviews, especially Martine Lifleur. We would also like to recognize the members of Patnè en Aksyon and the staff of the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Disparities and Community Outreach Core for their commitment to health equity and social change. This research was funded by the National Cancer Institute (R21-CA-11981-01), the Florida Breast Cancer Coalition Research Foundation (M051095), the Dr. John T. Macondald Foundation (98218) and the Susan G. Komen Foundation (DISP0708723).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1120 NW 14th Street, Suite # 1528, Miami, FL, 33136, USA

    Erin Kobetz

  2. Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, 1120 NW 14th Street, Suite # 1528, Miami, FL, 33136, USA

    Erin Kobetz, Janelle Menard, Betsy Barton & Jennifer Cudris Maldonado

  3. Department of Teaching and Learning, University of Miami School of Education, Merrick 324-C, 5202 University Drive, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, USA

    Joshua Diem

  4. Haitian American Association against Cancer, 225 NE 34th Street, Suite 208, Miami, FL, 33137, USA

    Pascale Denize Auguste

  5. Center For Haitian Studies, 8260 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami, FL, 33138, USA

    Larry Pierre

Authors
  1. Erin Kobetz
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  2. Janelle Menard
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  3. Betsy Barton
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  4. Jennifer Cudris Maldonado
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  5. Joshua Diem
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  6. Pascale Denize Auguste
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  7. Larry Pierre
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Erin Kobetz.

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Kobetz, E., Menard, J., Barton, B. et al. Barriers to Breast Cancer Screening Among Haitian Immigrant Women in Little Haiti, Miami. J Immigrant Minority Health 12, 520–526 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-010-9316-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-010-9316-x

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