ABSTRACT
During the last ten years there has been an interest for determining the prevalence and incidence of dementia among older adults and for cognitive tests that do to discriminate by level of education. This article revolves around the validation of a minimental exam, the Cabán minimental, to measure the cognitive capacity of Spanish-speaking adults 60 years of age and older; a test that is not affected by level of education. The factors measured in the Cabán minimental are: orientation, visual and motor coordination, learning, recent memory and abstraction. The validation process underwent two phases. During the first one, the Cabán test was subjected to construct validation and internal and predictive consistency tests. The second stage comprised a comparison between the Cabán and Folstein minimentals. The Cabán showed a statistically significant difference to discriminate for subjects with dementia. Results also suggest that the Cabán is not as much affected as the Folstein by differences in education.
Subject(s)
Dementia/diagnosis , Psychometrics/methods , Aged , Communication Barriers , Hispanic or Latino , Humans , Middle Aged , ROC Curve , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and Specificity , Severity of Illness IndexABSTRACT
Screening mammogram utilization is a critical issue in early detection of breast cancer. However, it is underutilized by different sectors, particularly low-income women. The objective of this study was to utilize the method known as focus group to probe into obstacles to screening mammogram among low-income women in the ages 40 to 64 in Puerto Rico once they had a physician's referral. The women in the study had knowledge of breast self-examination, clinical breast exam and mammogram as tests to detect breast cancer. Yet, they had no adequate knowledge about current screening guidelines. Attitudes toward pain or discomfort related to the mammogram and fear of a breast cancer diagnosis were the personal reasons most often cited for non-compliance in the focus group discussions. In the case of external or systemic barriers, the most prevalent reasons offered were: cost of the mammogram, transportation, and negative factors associated to the doctor-patient relationship.
Subject(s)
Mammography/statistics & numerical data , Mass Screening/statistics & numerical data , Patient Compliance/statistics & numerical data , Poverty/statistics & numerical data , Adult , Age Factors , Breast Neoplasms/diagnosis , Breast Neoplasms/prevention & control , Breast Self-Examination/statistics & numerical data , Female , Fibrocystic Breast Disease/diagnosis , Humans , Mammography/economics , Middle Aged , Physician-Patient Relations , Risk Factors , Transportation , VocabularyABSTRACT
Screening mammogram utilization is a critical issue in early detection of breast cancer. However, it is underutilized by different sectors, particularly low-income women. The objective of this study was to utilize the method known as focus group to probe into obstacles to screening mammogram among low-income women in the ages 40 to 64 in Puerto Rico once they had a physician's referral. The women in the study had knowledge of breast self-examination, clinical breast exam and mammogram as tests to detect breast cancer. Yet, they had no adequate knowledge about current screening guidelines. Attitudes toward pain or discomfort related to the mammogram and fear of a breast cancer diagnosis were the personal reasons most often cited for non-compliance in the focus group discussions. In the case of external or systemic barriers, the most prevalent reasons offered were: cost of the mammogram, transportation, and negative factors associated to the doctor-patient relationship.