“Everyone needs a Deb”: what Australian indigenous women say about breast cancer screening and treatment services

BMC Health Services Research

Research

Debbie McCowen¹  Deb Green¹  Kylie Gwynne²  Vita Christie²  John Skinner²  Boe Rambaldini²  Christopher Pyke³  Ross O’Shea³  Karen Littlejohn³  Lynette Riley⁴ 

[1] Armajun Aboriginal Health Service, Armidale and Inverell, NSW, Australia;Djurali Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research and Education, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, Australia;Foundation for Breast Cancer Care, Brisbane, Australia;Indigenous Studies & Aboriginal Education, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia;

关键词: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander;    Indigenous;    Breast cancer;    Culture;    Screening;    Perspective;    Australia;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12913-023-09633-y

 received in 2023-03-13, accepted in 2023-06-01,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundBreast cancer continues to be the second most diagnosed cancer overall and the most diagnosed cancer for women in Australia. While mortality rates overall have declined in recent years, Indigenous women continue to be diagnosed at more marginal rates (0.9 times) and are more likely to die (1.2 times). The literature provides a myriad of reasons for this; however, the voices of Indigenous women are largely absent. This study sets out to understand what is happening from the perspectives of Australian Indigenous women with a view to charting culturally safer pathways that improve participation in screening and treatment by Indigenous women.MethodsThis co-design study was conducted using semi-structured, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Recruitment of study participants was via snowball sampling. Participants were subsequently consented into the study through the Aboriginal Health Service and the research team. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim, and data coded in NVivo12 using inductive thematic analysis.ResultsA total of 21 Indigenous women and 14 health service providers were interviewed predominantly from the same regional/rural area in NSW, with a small proportion from other states in Australia. Six major themes were identified: Access, Awareness, Community and Family, Lack of control, Negative feelings and associations and Role of services.ConclusionTo improve access and participation of Indigenous women and ultimately improve mortality rates, breast cancer services must explicitly address cultural and community needs.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

【 图 表 】

Fig. 5