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. 2017 Apr;4(2):178-183.
doi: 10.1007/s40615-016-0216-1. Epub 2016 Apr 11.

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Women's Experiences with Symptomatic Uterine Fibroids: a Qualitative Assessment

Katherine S Sengoba  1 , Marissa S Ghant  2 , Ijeoma Okeigwe  1 , Gricelda Mendoza  1 , Erica E Marsh  3
Affiliations

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Women's Experiences with Symptomatic Uterine Fibroids: a Qualitative Assessment

Katherine S Sengoba et al. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2017 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine racial/ethnic differences in treatment experiences and expectations among women with fibroids.

Methods: Sixty women with symptomatic uterine fibroids completed semi-structured interviews, demographic surveys, and a health literacy assessment. Participants were recruited from community-based organizations and health care organizations. Data from interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Three coders identified major themes and subthemes.

Results: The kappa (κ) among coders was 0.94. The mean age of participants was 43.0 ± 6.8 (mean ± SD). A total of 61.7 % of subjects were African-American (AAW), 25.0 % were non-Hispanic White (WW), 8.3 % were Hispanic (HW), and 5.0 % were Asian (ASW). When considering treatment options, AAW were more likely to want a permanent intervention. They were also more likely to demonstrate an aversion toward conventional treatments. Of the women who received a surgical intervention, AAW were also more likely to have had a difficult recovery and to be dissatisfied with their treatment. Finally, AAW disproportionately expressed concern regarding financial challenges.

Conclusions: AAW have high treatment expectations, have more financial obstacles, and are less satisfied with their treatment outcomes than women of other racial/ethnic groups. Our findings suggest a need to create targeted patient interventions and education to ameliorate these disparities in experience.

Keywords: Fibroids; Health disparities; Interviews; Qualitative; Race.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

Conflict of Interest: Dr. Erica E Marsh attended an advisory board meeting for Abbvie.

Katherine S Sengoba, Marissa S Ghant, Ijeoma Okeigwe and Gricelda Mendoza declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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