) This is an exploratory study that will direct attention to a relatively new area of research, that is, the investigation of African-American women's participation in cancer prevention trials for breast cancer. This study will lay the groundwork for further research to implement and test interventions that will increase African-American women's recruitment and retention in cancer prevention trials. A beginning step for this new research area is to become familiar with the study population and learn about their perceptions of prevention trial participation. Because physicians play key roles in the decision making of women's care, it also will be important to learn about their perceptions of prevention trial participation.
The specific aims of the study are: 1) to describe African-American women's knowledge, attitudes and health behaviors about cancer prevention trials; 2) to determine African American women's willingness to participate in prevention trials, and 3) to describe physicians' perceptions about African-American women's participation in prevention trials. A Clinical Trial Participation Model and the Health Belief Model will guide the framework for this study. The design employed to conduct this two-year study will be a descriptive cross-sectional survey design. Study populations will be African-American women and their physicians. A self-administered questionnaire will be the data collection source. Descriptive statistics will be analyzed and reported rising the SPSS/PC package.
