Attending to the Psychosocial Needs of Older Hispanic, Black and Non-Hispanic White Women and Their Breast Cancer Screening Behaviors

Background Cancer risk increases with age. Despite breast cancer screening guidelines, older minorities are less likely to obtain screenings. Many factors influence cancer screening participation, though the literature rarely examines factors influencing cancer screening in older adult minority populations. Methods Using 2008 and 2012 waves of data from the Health and Retirement study, we examined and compared the relationships between psychosocial factors and breast screening participation among older African American, Hispanic and non-Hispanic White women. We utilized logistic regression to determine the influence of psychosocial factors (satisfaction with aging, religiosity, perceived control, emotions, purpose in life) in 2008 predicting breast cancer screening participation in 2012, given the increasing importance of understanding health behaviors as predicted by prior circumstances. While controlling for other variables, the major findings demonstrated that the odds of having a mammogram among Hispanics decreased as feelings that ‘things were getting worse’ with age intensified; and screening was more likely among Hispanic religious women. The odds of obtaining a mammogram increased with increasing purpose in life for Hispanics. Conclusions and Implications These findings suggest the need for comprehensive geriatric assessments to understand the perspectives of older minority women, and provides formative data to inform shared decision-making interventions.