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Abstract
Current studies indicate that rates of mammography use in the general population fall below objectives set by leading health agencies. This is even more true in the African-American community. This study used the health belief model as the theoretical basis of a secondary data analysis to establish differences in health beliefs among African-American and Caucasian women related to mammography. Data were obtained from members of the Indiana University Medical Group and from outpatients of the General Medicine Clinic, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, in St. Louis, Missouri. Data analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling. The results indicated that the health belief model explained approximately 13% of the variance associated with Caucasian women's compliance with mammography and approximately 9% of the variance for African-American women, with differences between specific variables that appeared to have the most explanatory power. These findings indicate that the model, although a good starting point, does not completely explain the differences that exist between health beliefs or behavior regarding mammography among the two groups of women.
