Armour-Burton Teri, Etland Caroline
Teri Armour-Burton, PhD, RN NE-BC, Doctoral Student, University of San Diego Hahn School of Nursing, California. She is now Nurse Manager, Sharp Healthcare, San Diego, California. Caroline Etland, PhD, RN, CNS, AOCN, ACHPN, is Associate Professor, University of San Diego Hahn School of Nursing, California.
Nurs Res. 2020 Jul/Aug;69(4):272-279. doi: 10.1097/NNR.0000000000000426.
African American women (AAW) are diagnosed with more aggressive forms of breast cancer when compared to White women and are more likely to die before the age of 45 years. Researchers have suggested that psychological stress could be a precursor to breast cancer. AAW experience a unique form of stress that is a result of living at the intersection of socially constructed roles of race, gender, and class (intersectionality). No studies have used the paradigm of Black Feminist Thought to examine breast cancer disparities among AAW.
The purpose of this study was to examine how the intersection of race, gender, and class influences mental and physiological well-being among AAW with breast cancer.
A phenomenological design was used. Ten AAW ages 45-60 years were recruited from across the United States. Semistructured interviews were conducted and analyzed using a modified Husserlian approach of descriptive phenomenology. The interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim, and themes were identified using Giorgi's method.
Four themes emerged: (a) altruism (selfless giving and caring for others), (b) silent strength (strength in silence while enduring life in the intersection), (c) existential invisibility (an essential, obscured presence in society), and (d) marginalization (living at the margins of society). Marginalization manifested in two forms: (a) passive marginalization (circumstances in which women removed themselves mentally or physically from societal adversity) and (b) active marginalization (circumstances in which women were overlooked, devalued, or ostracized by others).
This study supports the use of Black Feminist Thought to garner knowledge that adds to the discussion of breast cancer disparities. The themes identified suggest other upstream psychosocial risk factors for the development of breast cancer in AAW that stem from life within the societal intersection.
与白人女性相比，非裔美国女性（AAW）被诊断出患更具侵袭性的乳腺癌，并且更有可能在45岁之前死亡。研究人员认为，心理压力可能是乳腺癌的先兆。AAW经历了一种独特的压力形式，这是由于生活在种族、性别和阶级的社会建构角色的交叉点上（交叉性）。尚无研究使用黑人女性主义思想范式来研究AAW之间的乳腺癌差异。
本研究的目的是探讨种族、性别和阶级的交叉如何影响患有乳腺癌的AAW的心理和生理健康。
采用现象学设计。从美国各地招募了10名年龄在45至60岁之间的AAW。进行了半结构化访谈，并使用描述性现象学的改良胡塞尔方法进行分析。访谈进行了录音并逐字转录，使用 Giorgi 方法确定主题。
出现了四个主题：（a）利他主义（无私奉献和关心他人），（b）沉默的力量（在交叉点上忍受生活时的沉默力量），（c）存在的无形性（在社会中一种基本的、被遮蔽的存在），以及（d）边缘化（生活在社会边缘）。边缘化表现为两种形式：（a）被动边缘化（女性在心理上或身体上使自己远离社会逆境的情况）和（b）主动边缘化（女性被他人忽视、贬低或排斥的情况）。
本研究支持使用黑人女性主义思想来获取知识，以增加对乳腺癌差异的讨论。确定的主题表明，AAW患乳腺癌的其他上游心理社会风险因素源于社会交叉点内的生活。
