Longitudinal study of religion and cancer-related behaviors in Black Americans

描述(由申请人提供)：与其他种族或民族相比，非裔美国人受癌症的影响不成比例。有许多社会和文化因素与影响癌症死亡率的预防和筛查行为有关。宗教/精神参与似乎是这些因素之一。我们有两项正在进行的研究，正在测试宗教/精神参与与癌症风险、预防和筛查行为以及身体和情感功能的理论模型。一组10名潜在的调解人正在接受全国非洲裔美国人的可能样本的审查。这是已知的第一项对此类模型进行实证检验的研究。在面试期间，参与者被问及是否愿意被重新联系进行后续面试。超过90%的参与者表示愿意。我们现在有一个独特的、对时间敏感的机会，可以对这两个研究队列进行为期四年的跟踪调查，提供对父母研究中正在审查的关系的纵向分析。此外，我们建议在基线后六年进行第三波纵向数据收集。这些额外的数据收集浪潮将加强两项父母研究中的冥想分析。这将为宗教与健康之间的联系提供一个亟需的纵向测试，而据我们所知，这也是对宗教与健康之间联系的调解人进行的唯一纵向分析。最后，拟议的研究将加强因果关系的解释，这是使用横断面数据无法做到的。这项拟议研究的具体目标是：(1)通过对3173名健康的非裔美国人成年人进行为期四年和六年的跟踪评估，扩大我们正在进行的两项纵向队列研究的横断面调查；以及(2)根据具体目标1的发现，制定和传播实践建议。例如，我们将确定似乎可以随着时间的推移而改变的介体和结果，并就如何将宗教/精神参与影响行为的重要介体纳入现有的非裔美国人癌症筛查和预防计划提出建议。这可以显著提高以信仰为基础的环境中提供的计划的有效性，这可能会对癌症差异产生影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): African Americans are disproportionately affected by cancer when compared to other racial or ethnic groups. There are a number of social and cultural factors that relate to prevention and screening behaviors that impact cancer mortality rates. Religious/spiritual involvement appears to be one of these factors. We have two ongoing studies that are testing a theoretical model of religious/spiritual involvement and cancer risk, prevention, and screening behaviors, as well as physical and emotional functioning. A set of ten potential mediators are being examined among a national probability sample of African Americans. These are the first known studies to empirically test such models. During the interviews participants were asked if they would be willing to be re-contacted for a subsequent interview. Over 90 percent of participants have indicated yes. We now have a unique and time-sensitive opportunity to conduct a four-year follow-up of these two research cohorts, providing a longitudinal analysis of the relationships being examined in the parent studies. In addition, we propose to conduct a third wave of longitudinal data collection at six years post baseline. These additional waves of data collection will strengthen the meditational analyses in both of the parent studies. This would provide a much-needed longitudinal test of the religion-health connection, and to our knowledge the only longitudinal analysis of mediators of the religion-health connection. Finally, the proposed study would strengthen cause-effect interpretations, something that cannot be done with cross sectional data. The specific aims of the proposed study are to: (1) Expand two of our ongoing cross-sectional investigations into longitudinal cohort studies, by conducting a four-year and a six-year follow-up assessment among our cohort of 3,173 healthy African American adults; and (2) Develop and disseminate recommendations for practice, based on findings from Specific Aim #1. For example, we will identify mediators and outcomes that appear to be modifiable over time, and make recommendations on how to integrate important mediators through which religious/spiritual involvement impacts behavior, into existing cancer screening and prevention programs for African Americans. This could significantly improve effectiveness of programs delivered in faith-based settings, which could have an impact on cancer disparities.