• Jin Hee Kim and Usha Menon.
• College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA. jinhkim@uic.edu
• Oncol Nurs Forum. 2009 Mar 1; 36 (2): E80-92.

Purpose/ObjectivesTo assess differences in acculturation, knowledge, beliefs, and stages of readiness for mammograms from pre- to postintervention among Korean American women aged 40 years or older.DesignProspective, repeated measures, quasi-experimental.SettingA Korean American senior center in the midwestern United States.Sample300 Korean American women aged 40 years or older with no breast cancer diagnoses and who were non-adherent with mammography screening.MethodsFollowing completion of the preintervention questionnaire, the women attended a 45-minute interactive breast cancer early screening education session (GO EARLY) organized according to stages of readiness for mammography use (i.e., not thinking about having one, thinking about having one, and had one in the past). Postintervention data were collected six weeks following the educational session.Main Research VariablesAcculturation, knowledge, beliefs (perceived risk, pros, cons, fear, self-efficacy, modesty, fatalism), and stages of readiness for mammography use.FindingsAt preintervention stages of readiness, women thinking about having a mammogram (contemplators) had significantly lower knowledge scores and higher cons to mammography use than women who had mammograms in the past (relapsers). Women not thinking about having a mammogram (precontemplators) had significantly lower self-efficacy for having a mammogram and higher cons than relapsers. The GO EARLY session was most effective in increasing knowledge, decreasing perceived cons, and increasing perceived self-efficacy. No statistically significant intervention effect was noted on upward shift in stage of readiness for mammography use postintervention.ConclusionsThe GO EARLY intervention, the first study to assess stages of readiness for mammography use among Korean American women, was feasible and culturally sensitive and can be replicated in various Korean American communities.Implications For NursingCulturally appropriate educational programs can serve to change women's perceptions and knowledge, and such changes may lead to changes in health behavior.

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