Elderly African American women's knowledge and belief about colorectal cancer

The purpose of this pilot study using focus groups was to 1) identify elderly African American women's knowledge and belief about colorectal cancer, 2) determine whether African American elderly women seek preventative measures for colorectal cancer, and 3) determine the educational needs to increase participation in colon cancer screening. The author used a convenience sample of 15 African-American women between the ages of 45-69 recruited from a moderately large church in a major urban city. Results of the study showed that there was a very low level of participation in colon cancer screening among the women in the group. Over 70 percent had a college degree or higher and 62 percent had no knowledge about colorectal cancer. 77 percent were employed with 69 percent having health insurance; 38 percent did not perceive themselves at any risk for colorectal cancer; and only 23 percent stated that they had been tested for colon cancer. Reasons for not getting screened were: fear; afraid of pain; doctor never recommended any tests; had no symptoms; competing health histories; embarrassment; and flaws in risk perception.