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

描述（由申请人提供）：与其他种族或族裔群体相比，非洲裔美国人受癌症影响不成比例。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/精神参与和癌症风险，预防和筛查行为以及身体和情感功能的理论模型。一组十个潜在的调解人正在审查中的非裔美国人的国家概率样本。这是已知的第一个对这些模型进行实证检验的研究。在访谈期间，参与者被问到是否愿意在随后的访谈中再次联系。超过90%的参与者表示是。我们现在有一个独特的和时间敏感的机会，对这两个研究队列进行为期四年的随访，对母研究中正在检查的关系进行纵向分析。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波将加强两项母研究中的冥想分析。这将提供一个急需的纵向测试的宗教与健康的连接，和我们所知的唯一的纵向分析的调解人的宗教与健康的连接。最后，拟议的研究将加强因果解释，这是横截面数据无法做到的。拟议研究的具体目标是：（1）通过在我们的3，173名健康非洲裔美国成年人队列中进行为期四年和六年的随访评估，将我们正在进行的两项横断面调查扩展为纵向队列研究;以及（2）根据具体目标#1的发现，制定和传播实践建议。例如，我们将确定调解人和结果，似乎是随着时间的推移修改，并就如何整合重要的调解人，通过宗教/精神参与影响行为，到现有的癌症筛查和预防计划的非洲裔美国人提出建议。这可以显着提高在基于信仰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.