Journal of women's health
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Journal of women's health · Oct 2003
The impact of a family history of breast cancer on screening practices and attitudes in low-income, rural, African American women.
Women with a family history of breast cancer are at increased risk for developing cancer and, therefore, might be expected to engage in early detection practices more actively than women without a family history. Alternatively, women with a family history may avoid thinking about cancer and have attitudes and practices that do not promote early detection. ⋯ Thus, neither knowledge of a positive family history nor perceived relative risk of breast cancer was associated with either increased or decreased early detection practices among these low-income, rural, African American women who have underused mammography. Furthermore, a substantial proportion of FH(+) women had not ever participated in screening mammography. Interventions to increase mammography rates in this population of underusers are indicated.
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Journal of women's health · Oct 2003
Posttraumatic stress in women after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City.
Women have been shown to be at higher risk than men of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after traumatic events. Women in New York City were more likely than men to have probable PTSD 5-8 weeks after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. We explored the factors that could explain the higher prevalence of probable PTSD among women in the aftermath of the attacks. ⋯ These results suggest that specific behavioral and biographic factors (including previous traumatic experiences and psychological disorders, social responsibilities, and perievent emotional reactions) explained most of the excess burden of probable PTSD among women after a disaster. Isolating the characteristics that place women at greater risk for probable PTSD after disasters can inform public health prevention strategies and spur further research.