Date of Conferral

2020

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Nursing

Advisor

Leslie Hussey

Abstract

Skin cancer is becoming more prevalent in African Americans. African Americans' mortality rate is significantly higher than any other race due to lack of awareness. The purpose of this qualitative study, guided by Rosenstock's health belief model, was to gain an understanding of African Americans' beliefs and perceptions regarding skin cancer. Ten telephone interviews were conducted with African Americans who were 18 years old or older, no history of cancer, and who were members of a church in a rural town in the southeastern United States. The interview transcripts were manually transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed by using codes that that were entered into NVivo 11 to identify patterns and themes. The following 8 themes emerged from participants' beliefs regarding skin cancer and prevention: knowledge of skin cancer, sun-protective measures, consequences not using protective measures, need for sun-protective measures, risk of developing skin cancer, screened for skin cancer, recommendations for preventing skin cancer, and discussion of skin cancer with physicians. The results of this study revealed that participants knew very little or nothing about skin cancer. Further studies in this area may include conducting more qualitative studies that explore African Americans' behaviors using sun-protective measures compared to other ethnicities. Nurses, as well as other healthcare providers may benefits from this research because the findings will add to the body of knowledge by addressing the existing gaps in the literature. Understanding African Americans' beliefs and perceptions regarding skin cancer can help lead to prevention programs, which affects positive social change.

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