Improving Cervical Cancer Screening among African American Women: Application of the Health Belief Model

Cervical cancer among African American Women is at a higher rate than any other racial group. According to the Centers for Disease control and Prevention (CDC), cervical cancer is highly preventable in most western countries and highly treatable, if found early. The number of new cervical cancer cases for African American Women per 100,000 people were 9.2% compared to 7.7% new cases found in Caucasian American Women. Although cervical cancer can be largely prevented with screening, it still continues to be a major cause of female cancer-related deaths. The Health Belief Model (HBM) was used as a theoretical framework to give theory-based evidence of certain behaviors that was seen in each study. The HBM come from a body of knowledge of psychological and behavioral theory whose various models comes from two ideas: 1) the value placed on a particular goal by the person taking on the behavior and 2) the individual's likability that the given behavior will be achieved. Participants in one study could identify the cervix correctly, but most were unable to correctly identify that a Papanicolaou test as a screening test performed on the cervix. Although most women could not identify the cervix being assessed by Pap testing, most understood the purpose of the Pap testing as well as the meaning and appropriate follow-up for abnormal results. Epidemiological data is necessary to identify high-risk populations but we must understand the sub-groups within racial/ethnic categories to implement targeted and effective prevention and treatment efforts in these high-risk populations.