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Associations Between Religion-Related Factors and Breast Cancer Screening Among American Muslims

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Abstract

American Muslims have low rates of mammography utilization, and research suggests that religious values influence their health-seeking behaviors. We assessed associations between religion-related factors and breast cancer screening in this population. A diverse group of Muslim women were recruited from mosques and Muslim organization sites in Greater Chicago to self-administer a survey incorporating measures of fatalism, religiosity, discrimination, and Islamic modesty. 254 surveys were collected of which 240 met age inclusion criteria (40 years of age or older). Of the 240, 72 respondents were Arab, 71 South Asian, 59 African American, and 38 identified with another ethnicity. 77 % of respondents had at least one mammogram in their lifetime, yet 37 % had not obtained mammography within the past 2 years. In multivariate models, positive religious coping, and perceived religious discrimination in healthcare were negatively associated with having a mammogram in the past 2 years, while having a PCP was positively associated. Ever having a mammogram was positively associated with increasing age and years of US residency, and knowing someone with breast cancer. Promoting biennial mammography among American Muslims may require addressing ideas about religious coping and combating perceived religious discrimination through tailored interventions.

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Acknowledgments

We thank our respondents for taking the time to fill out the survey, and our community partners and advisors for their invaluable recruitment assistance and support: Ahlam Jbara and Dr. Zaher Sahloul from the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, Itedal Shalabi from Arab American Family Services, and Dr. Bambade Shakoor-Abdulla of CMECCA. A note of thanks also goes to our research assistants Alison Cook and Nadiah Mohajir. Finally we want to thank all of the staff members at our recruitment sites who made the data collection possible. This project was supported by an Institutional Research Grant (#58-004) from the American Cancer Society, and a Cancer Center Support Grant (#P30 CA14599). Data warehousing was supported by the REDCap project at the University of Chicago, managed by the Center for Research Informatics, and funded by the Biological Sciences Division and the Institute for Translational Medicine CTSA Grant (UL1 RR024999).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Initiative on Islam and Medicine, Program on Medicine and Religion, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, 5841 S Maryland Ave, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA

    Aasim I. Padela, Sohad Murrar, Brigid Adviento & Zahra Hosseinian

  2. Section of Emergency Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Aasim I. Padela

  3. Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Aasim I. Padela & Monica Peek

  4. Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Aasim I. Padela

  5. Department of Health Studies, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Chuanhong Liao

  6. Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities & History of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Farr Curlin

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  1. Aasim I. Padela
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Correspondence to Aasim I. Padela.

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Padela, A.I., Murrar, S., Adviento, B. et al. Associations Between Religion-Related Factors and Breast Cancer Screening Among American Muslims. J Immigrant Minority Health 17, 660–669 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-014-0014-y

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