An RCT to Increase Breast and Colorectal Cancer Screening.

Introduction: Adherence to breast and colorectal cancer screenings reduce mortality from these cancers, yet screening rates remain suboptimal. This 2 × 2 RCT compared 3 theory-based interventions to usual care to simultaneously increase breast and colon cancer screening in women who were nonadherent to both screenings at study entry.

Design: RCT.

A Randomized Trial to Compare a Tailored Web-Based Intervention and Tailored Phone Counseling to Usual Care for Increasing Colorectal Cancer Screening.

Background: Colorectal cancer mortality could be decreased with risk-appropriate cancer screening. We examined the efficacy of three tailored interventions compared with usual care for increasing screening adherence.

Methods: Women ( = 1,196) ages 51 to 74, from primary care networks and nonadherent to colorectal cancer guidelines, were randomized to (1) usual care, (2) tailored Web intervention, (3) tailored phone intervention, or (4) tailored Web + phone intervention.

Classification tree analysis to examine influences on colorectal cancer screening.

Purpose: Identifying correlates of colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) is critical for cancer control and prevention. Classification tree analysis (CTA) is a potentially powerful analytic tool that can identify distinct population subgroups for which CRCS is influenced by any number of multivariable interactions. This study used CTA to identify correlates of CRCS for exclusive population subgroups.

Continuum of mammography use among US women: classification tree analysis.

Objectives: To identify women with low mammography utilization.

Methods: We used Classification Tree Analysis among women aged 42-80 from the 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (N = 169,427) to identify sub-groups along a continuum of screening.

Results: Women with neither a primary care provider nor health insurance had the lowest utilization (33.

Examining whether lung screening changes risk perceptions: National Lung Screening Trial participants at 1-year follow-up.

Background: The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) research team reported reduced lung cancer mortality among current and former smokers with a minimum 30 pack-year history who were screened with spiral computed tomography scans compared with chest x-rays. The objectives of the current study were to examine, at 1-year follow-up: 1) risk perceptions of lung cancer and smoking-related diseases and behavior change determinants, 2) whether changes in risk perceptions differed by baseline screening result; and 3) whether changes in risk perceptions affected smoking behavior.

Methods: A 25-item risk perception questionnaire was administered to a subset of participants at 8 American College of Radiology Imaging Network/NLST sites before initial and 1-year follow-up screens.

Parylene coatings on stainless steel 316L surface for medical applications--mechanical and protective properties.

The mechanical and protective properties of parylene N and C coatings (2-20 μm) on stainless steel 316L implant materials were investigated. The coatings were characterized by scanning electron and confocal microscopes, microindentation and scratch tests, whereas their protective properties were evaluated in terms of quenching metal ion release from stainless steel to simulated body fluid (Hanks solution). The obtained results revealed that for parylene C coatings, the critical load for initial cracks is 3-5 times higher and the total metal ions release is reduced 3 times more efficiently compared to parylene N.

Reversal of associations between Spanish language use and mammography and pap smear testing.

Latina women are less likely to utilize cancer screening services than are non-Latina White women. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between preferred language (English vs. Spanish) and receipt of mammography and Pap-smear testing among US Latinas and non-Latinas.

Colorectal cancer screening: language is a greater barrier for Latino men than Latino women.

Colorectal cancer screening (CRC) disparities between non-Latino Whites and Latinos remain, and may have increased. The goal of this analysis was to examine the association between Latino race/ethnicity, gender, and English-proficiency and CRC screening. Analysis of the CDC's BRFSS 2008 survey.

Understanding reversals of association between cancer screening and race/ethnicity.

Background: We used a composite variable composed of insurance status, income, and race/ethnicity to investigate access-enhancing programs as a possible reason for "reversals of association" and large percent changes (LPC), between race/ethnicity and cancer screening, when comparing the unadjusted and adjusted ORs.

Methods: Data were from women aged 40-64 years, using the combined 2008 and 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys. Recent mammography was within the past 2 years, and recent Pap testing was within the past 3 years.

Reversals of association for Pap, colorectal, and prostate cancer testing among Hispanic and non-Hispanic black women and men.

Background: Several studies have found that Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks have statistically significantly higher adjusted OR for cancer screening tests compared to non-Hispanic whites, even though their crude percentages were lower than, or about equal to, those for the non-Hispanic whites. Most documentation is for mammography. This article investigates the prevalence of such unadjusted-to-adjusted "reversed associations" (RA) for Pap, colorectal, and prostate testing.

Wavelet-SVM classification and automatic recognition of unstained viable cells in phase-contrast microscopy.

Irradiation of individual cultured mammalian cells with a pre-selected number of ions down to one ion per single cell is a useful experimental approach to investigating the low-dose ionising radiation exposure effects and thus contributing to a more realistic human cancer risk assessment. One of the crucial tasks of all the microbeam apparatuses is the visualisation, recognition and positioning of every individual cell of the cell culture to be irradiated. Before irradiations, mammalian cells (specifically, Chinese hamster V79 cells) are seeded and grown as a monolayer on a mylar surface used as the bottom of a specially designed holder.

Validity of the process of change for colorectal cancer screening among African Americans.

Background: Process of change (POC) is a construct of the transtheoretical model that proposes to promote healthy behaviors.

Purpose: African Americans participate in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening less often than whites, while disease onset is younger, and incidence and mortality from CRC are higher.

Methods: POC items for CRC screening were administered to 158 African Americans, the majority of whom were female (75.

Evaluating the impact of non-response bias in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).

Background: Response rates of national health surveys are decreasing, which potentially can bias obtained prevalence estimates. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the extent to which non-response impacts the representativeness of the 2000 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) sample compared to the 2000 Decennial Census.

Methods: The 2000 BRFSS had a median response rate of 48%, while the 2000 Decennial Census had a response rate of 67%.

Inconsistent mammography perceptions and practices among women at risk of breast cancer following a pediatric malignancy: a report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.

Women treated with chest radiation for a pediatric cancer have low mammography screening rates despite their high risk for breast cancer. This study characterized the relationship between perceptions of mammography and screening practices. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 523 women in North America who were treated with chest radiation before 21 years of age.

Prevalence and correlates of recent and repeat mammography among California women ages 55-79.

Objective: Data on repeat mammography rates are less available than for recent screening. Two large, population-based state surveys provide the opportunity to investigate repeat and recent mammography prevalence and correlates among California's diverse population.

Methods: Data were from women aged 55-79, using the 2001 and 2005 California Health Interview Surveys.

Construct validity of a mammography processes of change scale and invariance by stage of change.

The development and use of validated processes of change (POC) measures have received little attention in the literature despite their importance in the Transtheoretical Model. Using survey data (N = 2909), we examined the construct validity of a 22-item mammography POC scale by testing for factorial validity and factorial invariance across stage of change. We also used MANOVA with Tukey post-hoc tests to confirm stage differences in POC use (concurrent validity).

Social and cultural meanings of self-efficacy.

This article describes the influences of social context on women's health behavior through illustration of the powerful influences of social capital (the benefits and challenges that accrue from participation in social networks and groups) on experiences and perceptions of self-efficacy. The authors conducted inductive interviews with Latino and Filipino academics and social service providers and with U.S.

Behavioral constructs and mammography in five ethnic groups.

Intention, self-efficacy, perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, and subjective norms are key constructs of health behavior theories; their predictive validity for cancer screening has not been ascertained in multiethnic populations. Participants were 1,463 African American, Chinese, Filipina, Latina, and White women aged 40 to 74 interviewed by telephone in their preferred languages. The relationship between baseline constructs and mammography 2 years later was assessed using multivariable logistic regression.

Behavioral theory in a diverse society: like a compass on Mars.

The behavioral theory constructs most often used to study mammography utilization-perceived benefit, perceived susceptibility, self-efficacy, intention, and subjective norms-have neither been developed nor sufficiently tested among diverse racial/ethnic subgroups. The authors explored these constructs and their underlying assumptions relating to the social context of Filipina and Latina women. The mixed-methods study included testing construct measures in the multilingual surveys of a concurrent intervention study of 1,463 women from five ethnic groups.

The Getting-Out-of-Bed (GoB) scale: a measure of motivation and life outlook in older adults with cancer.

Objective: To develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a measure of motivation and life outlook (Getting-Out-of-Bed [GoB]).

Design: Secondary analysis of baseline and 6-month data from a longitudinal follow-up study of older breast cancer survivors.

Participants: Women (N = 660) diagnosed with primary breast cancer stage I-IIIA disease, age >or=65 years, and permission to contact from an attending physician in four geographic regions in the United States (city-based Los Angeles, California; statewide in Minnesota, North Carolina, and Rhode Island).

Repeat mammography screening among unmarried women with and without a disability.

Objectives: Unmarried women with disabilities may be a particularly vulnerable group for underutilization of repeat mammography screening. Our goal was to compare the breast cancer screening experiences of unmarried women with disabilities (WWD) versus women with no disabilities (WND), and determine whether these experiences are associated with adherence to repeat screening.

Methods: We conducted a matched cohort study of 93 WWD and 93 WND to compare mammography experiences by disability status, examine rates of repeat mammography by disability status, and identify factors that are associated with repeat mammography.

Using small-area estimation to describe county-level disparities in mammography.

Introduction: Breast cancer control efforts could benefit from estimating mammography prevalence at the substate level because studies have primarily analyzed health survey data at the national and state levels. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent to which geographic disparities exist in mammography use across counties in the contiguous United States.

Methods: We estimated county-level prevalence of recent mammography (past 2 years) for women aged 40 to 79 years by using synthetic regression, a small-area estimation method.

Risk perceptions among participants undergoing lung cancer screening: baseline results from the National Lung Screening Trial.

Background: Lung cancer screening could present a "teachable moment" for promoting smoking cessation and relapse prevention. Understanding the risk perceptions of older individuals who undergo screening will guide these efforts.

Purpose: This paper examines National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) participants' perceptions of risk for lung cancer and other smoking-related diseases.

Investigating reversals of association for utilization of recent mammography among Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Black women.

Objective: Several papers have found that Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Black women have higher adjusted odds ratios for recent mammography when compared with Non-Hispanic White women, even though their crude percentages were lower than, or about equal to, Non-Hispanic White women's. This paper investigates the existence of "reversals" of association for recent mammography and describes an analysis strategy for identifying variables that might produce them.

Methods: We used every-other-year data for women aged 40-80 from the 1996-2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and the 1999, 2000, 2003, and 2005 National Health Interview Survey.