Abstract
BackgroundHealth information and statistics for Black foreign-born women in the United States are under-reported or not available. Black foreign-born women typically are classified under the general category of African American, ignoring the heterogeneity that exists in the United States Black population. It is important to identify health issues and behaviors of African-born women to effectively address health disparities.MethodsBlack African-born women (N = 29), 20 years or older completed a survey about general and women’s health, health history, acculturation, lifestyle, social and health challenges, beliefs about breast cancer. Data were analyzed using SPSS 14.0 software. Categorical variables were summarized with frequencies and percentages and continuous variables were summarized with means and standard variation. A Likert scale (strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree) was used to assess beliefs about breast cancer.ResultsMost (71.4 %) participants had a high school education or more, 70 % were employed, and 50 % had health insurance. Two-thirds received health care from primary care doctors, 20.7 % from health departments, and 39.3 % got annual checkups. Lack of jobs, healthcare cost, language barrier, discrimination, and child care were the top social issues faced by participants. High blood pressure, obesity, oral health, HIV/AIDS, and diabetes were indicated as the most common health problems. The percent of participants (60 %) that had not had a mammogram within the previous 2 years was more than the state average (24 %) for women 40 years and older reported by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The percent of participants (40 %) that had a mammogram within the previous 2 years was lower than the national average (73.2 %) for African American women.ConclusionsStudy provides a snapshot of social concerns and health issues in an African population residing in Midwestern United States. Understanding the socio-cultural characteristics of this population is necessary to address health disparities.
Highlights
Health information and statistics for Black foreign-born women in the United States are under-reported or not available
Black African-born women (N = 29) originally from countries in West, Central and East Africa, and living in the Kansas City (KC) metropolitan area completed a survey about general health, women’s health, oral health, diet and exercise, acculturation, health history, and beliefs about breast cancer
While questions about health status and health care access were addressed to all participants, questions about breast cancer screening including mammography were addressed to women aged 35 and older
Summary
Health information and statistics for Black foreign-born women in the United States are under-reported or not available. Recording and reporting health statistics data only by (black) race masks differences within the Black population and provides inadequate information to develop effective programs [9]. To remedy this conundrum, the United States Department of Health and Human Services created an African Data Work Group to collect, organize, share, and identify gaps in knowledge and information on African immigrants and refugees [10]. The objectives of this study were to gather information about health issues and health care access among African immigrant and refugee women, and assess women’s knowledge of and awareness about breast cancer
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