Formative Development of a Culturally Appropriate Mammography Screening Campaign for Low-Income African-American...

The purpose of this qualitative study was to conduct a formative evaluation of messages and materials to inform the development of a promotional, health campaign designed to increase breast cancer screening awareness and utilization among low-income, uninsured African American women through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) in Savannah and Macon, Georgia (GA). A priority of CDC is to understand why women eligible for screening through the NBCCEDP do not participate in NBCCEDP screening services as well as to identify effective strategies for increasing enrollment among NBCCEDP-eligible women who have never received breast cancer screening. As such, eight focus groups were conducted with a sample of African American women (n=68) in two cities in GA. The participants in the focus groups were segmented by age (40-49 and 50-64) and mammography screening status. A thematic analysis of field notes was conducted to assess themes and patterns in the participants' perception of the promotional, health campaign's concepts, messages, and materials. The findings revealed common themes and identified several key issues to address in the refinement of campaign messages and materials, including the need to hear about breast cancer and the importance of screening from African American breast cancer survivors as well as to incorporate religious faith and family connectedness messages in materials. The study findings have implications for enhancing breast cancer prevention efforts in the African American community.