Research and publications
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This collection consists of journal articles, pre-prints, conference papers and other research and scholarship by graduate students and faculty associated with the School of Health Policy and Management, which includes the Graduate Program in Critical Disability Studies and the Graduate Program in Health.
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Browsing Research and publications by Author "Cameron, Jill"
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Item Open Access Rural physicians’ perspectives on cervical and breast cancer screening: A gender-based analysis(Mary Ann Liebert, 2001-03) Ahmad, F; Stewart, Donna Eileen; Cameron, Jill; Hyman, ISeveral studies highlight the role of physicians in determining cervical and breast cancer screening rates, and some urban studies report higher screening rates by female physicians. Rural women in North America remain underscreened for breast and cervical cancers. This survey was conducted to determine if there were significant gender differences in practices and perceptions of barriers to breast and cervical cancer screening among rural family physicians in Ontario, Canada. One hundred ninety-one family physicians (response rate 53.1%) who practiced in rural areas, small towns, or small cities completed a mail questionnaire. The physicians’ mean age was 44.4 years (SD 9.9), and mean number of years in practice was 16.6 years (SD 10.3). Over 90% of physicians reported that they were very likely to conduct a Pap test and clinical breast examination (CBE) during a periodic health examination, and they had high levels of confidence and comfort in performing these procedures. Male (68%) and female (32%) physicians were similar in their likelihood to conduct screening, levels of confidence and comfort, and knowledge of breast and cervical cancer screening guidelines. However, the self-reported screening rates for Pap tests and CBE performed during last year were higher for female than male physicians (p < 0.01). Male physicians reported they were asked more frequently by patients for a referral to another physician to perform Pap tests and CBE (p < 0.001). Also, male physicians perceived patients’ embarrassment as a stronger barrier to performing Pap tests (p < 0.05) and CBE (p < 0.01) than female physicians. No gender differences were observed in screening rates or related barriers to mammography referrals. These findings suggest that physicians’ gender plays a role in sex-sensitive examination, such as Pap tests and CBE. There is a need to facilitate physician-patient interactions for sex-sensitive cancer screening examinations by health education initiatives targeting male physicians and women themselves. The feasibility of providing sex-sensitive cancer screening examinations by a same-sex health provider should also be explored.Item Open Access A tailored intervention to promote breast cancer screening among South Asian immigrant women(Social Science and Medicine, 2005-02) Ahmad, F; Cameron, Jill; Stewart, Donna EileenThis study developed and evaluated a socioculturally tailored intervention to improve knowledge, beliefs and clinical breast examination (CBE) among South Asian (SA) immigrant women. The intervention comprised a series of socioculturally tailored breast-health articles published in Urdu and Hindi community newspapers. A pre- and post-intervention design evaluated the impact of the mailed articles among 74 participants. The mean age of participants was 37 years (SD 9.7) and they had lived 6 years (SD 6.6) in Canada. After the intervention, there was a significant increase in self-reporting 'ever had' routine physical checkup (46.4-70.8%; p < 0.01) and CBE (33.3-59.7%; p < 0.001). Also, the total summed scores of accurate answers to 12 knowledge items increased (3.3-7.0; p < 0.001). For constructs of health belief model, participants rated their level of agreement for a number of items on a scale of 1-4 (disagree to agree). After the intervention the following decreased: misperception of low susceptibility to breast cancer among SA immigrant women (3.0-2.4; p < 0.001); misperception of short survival after diagnosis (2.7-1.8; p < 0.001); and perceived barriers to CBE (2.5-2.1; p < 0.001). Self-efficacy to have CBE increased (3.1-3.6; p < 0.001). The change scores of five predictor variables were entered in a direct logistic regression to predict the uptake of CBE among participants who never had it prior to the intervention. The model, as a set, was statistically reliable [x2(5, n = 48) = 14.2 , p < 0.01] and explained 35% of variance in the outcome; perceived barriers remained an independently significant predictor. The results support the effectiveness of written socioculturally tailored language-specific health education materials in promoting breast cancer screening within the targeted population. Future research should test the intervention in other vulnerable populations.