Breast Cancer Prevention with Older Women: A Gender-Focused Intervention Study

Abstract

Breast cancer continues to be the most frequently diagnosed cancer in American women, with older women at highest risk (American Cancer Society [ACS], 2007). In this study, the researcher explored whether an educational intervention using feminist pedagogical methods would affect the use of breast cancer screening methods (mammography and breast self-exam) by older women. At 6-month follow-up, those women receiving the education intervention were found to have significantly increased their use of screening methods in comparison with a control group of women of similar age from the same community. The results of this study indicate support for the use of gender-focused educational methods with an emphasis on empowerment to increase the cancer screening practices of older women.