Title
Developing a Typology of African Americans With Limited Literacy Based on Preventive Health Practice Orientation: Implications for Colorectal Cancer Screening Strategies
Abbreviated Journal Title
J. Health Commun.
Keywords
PATIENT-PROVIDER COMMUNICATION; MARKET-SEGMENTATION; MEDICAL-CARE; PERCEPTIONS; BEHAVIORS; KNOWLEDGE; RISK; POPULATION; INSTRUMENT; ATTITUDES; Communication; Information Science & Library Science
Abstract
Preventive health messages are often tailored to reach broad sociodemographic groups. However, within groups, there may be considerable variation in perceptions of preventive health practices, such as colorectal cancer screening. Segmentation analysis provides a tool for crafting messages that are tailored more closely to the mental models of targeted individuals or subgroups. This study used cluster analysis, a psychosocial marketing segmentation technique, to develop a typology of colorectal cancer screening orientation among 102 African American clinic patients between the ages of 50 and 74 years with limited literacy. Patients were from a general internal medicine clinic in a large urban teaching hospital, a subpopulation known to have high rates of colorectal cancer and low rates of screening. Preventive screening orientation variables included the patients' responses to questions involving personal attitudes and preferences toward preventive screening and general prevention practices. A k-means cluster analysis yielded three clusters of patients on the basis of their screening orientation: ready screeners (50.0%), cautious screeners (30.4%), and fearful avoiders (19.6%). The resulting typology clearly defines important subgroups on the basis of their preventive health practice perceptions. The authors propose that the development of a validated typology of patients on the basis of their preventive health perceptions could be applicable to a variety of health concerns. Such a typology would serve to standardize how populations are characterized and would provide a more accurate view of their preventive health-related attitudes, values, concerns, preferences, and behaviors. Used with standardized assessment tools, it would provide an empirical basis for tailoring health messages and improving medical communication.
Journal Title
Journal of Health Communication
Volume
19
Issue/Number
11
Publication Date
1-1-2014
Document Type
Article
Language
English
First Page
1259
Last Page
1277
WOS Identifier
ISSN
1081-0730
Recommended Citation
"Developing a Typology of African Americans With Limited Literacy Based on Preventive Health Practice Orientation: Implications for Colorectal Cancer Screening Strategies" (2014). Faculty Bibliography 2010s. 5386.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/facultybib2010/5386
Comments
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