Women's decisions to seek evaluation of self discovered breast symptoms occurred in a complex social context
Question How do women decide whether and when to seek medical evaluation of self discovered breast symptoms?
Design
Analysis of narratives generated from 16 focus groups.
Setting
San Francisco, California, USA.
Participants
80 women aged ≥21 years who were recruited through community organisations, women's groups, churches, and senior centres.
Methods
Focus groups (6 groups of black women, 4 groups of white women, and 6 groups of Latino women) were held in homes and community meeting rooms and lasted 90–120 minutes. Women were asked what it would be like to discover a problem in their breast, what they thought they would do, and to relate the experiences of women in their families or communities. Sessions were audiotaped, data were transcribed, and narratives were independently analysed by 3 researchers.
Main findings
Women related 104 narratives of personal experiences with self discovered breast symptoms, as well as those of friends and family. They gave vivid descriptions of the place and time of …
