J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2026 Jul 9. doi: 10.1007/s40615-026-03092-x. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Awareness of cancer risk factors and perceptions about cancer is necessary to identify appropriate targets for cancer prevention interventions. To date, studies examining these factors among Black individuals- a population that experiences disparities in cancer-related incidence, outcomes, and survivorship – have not explored differences within ethnic subgroups. This study examined the awareness of cancer risk factors and cancer perceptions among African Americans and Sub-Saharan African immigrant adults and their associations with sociodemographics.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study that sampled African Americans and Sub-Saharan African immigrant adults aged 18-75 years between November 2020 and April 2022. Participants were recruited from the community using approved flyers and snowballing. We analyzed a self-administered survey that included measures of awareness of cancer risk factors, cancer perceptions, and sociodemographics. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression evaluated associations of sociodemographics with awareness of cancer risk factors and cancer risk perceptions variables.
RESULTS: A total of 197 adults completed the surveys, including 109 African Americans and 88 Sub-Saharan African Immigrants (mean age = 41.5; SD = 12.9) and 59.4% female. The mean score of participants’ awareness of cancer risk factors was 6.5 (SD = 3.3) on a scale range 0 to 13 and the cancer perceptions mean score was 13.8 (SD = 2.8) on a scale range 5 to 25. Educational attainment was associated with higher cancer risk factors awareness among African Americans but had no association among Sub-Saharan African immigrants. Every one-level increase in educational attainment among African Americans was associated with a 1.0-point increase in cancer risk awareness (b = 1.048, SE = 0.320, p = .001). The reported association is from a covariate adjusted model.
CONCLUSION: Interventions should target individuals at higher risk of limited awareness of cancer risk factors and cancer misconceptions by implementing culturally tailored, community-based educational programs that leverage trusted community settings and provide accessible, relevant cancer prevention information.
PMID:42426352 | DOI:10.1007/s40615-026-03092-x
