Keywords

Breast Cancer; Fatalism; Hispanic; Cancer Survivorship; Women; Disparity

Abstract

As fatalism, a person’s attitude towards their life, increases, there is a significant level of medical mistrust and avoidance, which can delay cancer diagnoses and affect the prognosis of the disease. Literature has shown that many factors, including age, race, acculturation, locus of control, education, and fear can influence fatalism. However, little research has been conducted on whether fatalism differs independently by Hispanic origin and its associated factors among Hispanic breast cancer survivors. This study used data from the Hispanic Breast Cancer Study at the University of Central Florida. The original study recruited 408 women aged ≥ 20 years, diagnosed in 2015-2022 with breast cancer and living in Central Florida, following the state-mandated patient recruitment procedures. Fatalism was measured using six questions in the Multidimensional Fatalism Measure questionnaire, each scored using a 5-point Likert-type scale, with higher scores indicating a high fatalistic belief. Fatalism scores were compared to self-reported Hispanic/Latina origin while controlling for potential confounders in the multivariable linear regression analysis. This research identifies potential confounders in Hispanic/Latina breast cancer survivors that were previously unclear. Both religion and an external locus of control were found to be positively associated with fatalism, while age, income level, education level, and language use at home were negatively associated with fatalism. It was also found that fatalism scores were different in Colombian participants than in any other Hispanic subgroup. The findings from this research can help physicians gain a deeper understanding of breast cancer survivors’ attitudes towards their lives according to their Hispanic origin, which will improve patient care.

Thesis Completion Year

2025

Thesis Completion Semester

Spring

Thesis Chair

Lee, Eunkyung

College

College of Health Professions and Sciences

Department

Department of Health Sciences

Thesis Discipline

Health Sciences

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus Access

None

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

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Public Health Commons

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Rights Statement

In Copyright