The study looks at how structural and social factors in the Mid-South affect people with cancer in a very in-depth way.
With the help of a $1.58 million grant from Gilead Sciences, Inc., a new study aims to find the reasons why Black women in the Mid-South are more likely to get breast cancer than white women.
According to UTHSC News, the study will look into how social and structural factors contribute to these differences. It will be led by health communication expert Dr. Janeane Anderson and medical oncologist Dr. Gregory Vidal. Scary numbers make the study’s importance even clearer.
“Every step of the cancer continuum for Black women in the South is slowed down, hard to get to, and unnecessary,” said Dr. Anderson, who is also an assistant professor and social scientist at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s College of Nursing.
New information from the American Cancer Society shows that black women are 40% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women. Arkansas and Mississippi, both in the Mid-South, are among the top 10 states with the highest overall cancer rates in the country, according to more studies.
Three separate groups will be a part of this research study: Black women with metastatic breast cancer, people who are at high risk for breast disease, and healthcare professionals in the Mid-South. The Socio-Ecological Model and Critical Race Theory are both used in the study design to give a complete framework for analysis.
“This study would be the most comprehensive qualitative evaluation of how social, economic, and health factors affect cancer patients in the Mid-South,” Dr. Vidal said, emphasizing the study’s possible importance.
The experts want to find useful information to solve this important health problem by looking at multiple levels of factors that affect differences in outcomes. Dr. Anderson’s previous research, which looked at how patients and doctors talk to each other and how that affects Black adults’ health, is built upon in this new study.
The three-year project will start on July 1 and will look for people to take part in different clinics in Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi.
Source: Black Enterprise
