Women's Understanding of Windows of Susceptibility and the Role of the Environment in Breast Cancer Risk

Emerging evidence suggests women who are exposed to harmful environmental exposures, especially during certain critical periods across the lifespan, may increase their breast cancer risk. Such windows of susceptibility (WoS) occur throughout a woman's lifetime, during which she is especially vulnerable to the effects of harmful environmental exposures. This interaction makes the reduction of harmful environmental toxicants during those time periods a priority for community health promotion. Communicating about environmental exposures and their impact on women's health requires an assessment of sense-making around, and understanding of, the link between breast cancer and the environment. To that end, focus groups were conducted to assess the themes that emerge when women make sense of (a) their own breast cancer risk, (b) the environment-cancer connection, and (c) WoS. Results provide insight into how women understand these issues which can inform messaging strategies focused on reducing harmful environmental exposures. Implications are discussed within the context of communication efforts tailored to educate women, particularly mothers with daughters in the prepubertal and pubertal WoS who are particularly vulnerable to harmful environmental exposures.

Evaluating the Extended Parallel Process Model's Danger Control Predictions in the Context of Dense Breast Notification Laws

This study evaluates predictions central to the extended parallel process model (EPPM) in the context of dense breast notifications. Many EPPM propositions have gone untested and competing predictions to the model have been evaluated to an even lesser extent. Also left as an open question is exactly how perceived threat and efficacy constructs should be treated in health communication research. Using experimental data collected from women likely to receive dense breast notification letters (i.e., aged 40 to 50 years) in states with and without dense breast notification legislation, this study explicitly tests EPPM predictions regarding danger control responses. These data were largely unsupportive of the EPPM's predictions and instead finds that negative affect is more of a direct predictor of intention than expected. These data also provide evidence supporting the separate treatment of the perceived severity, susceptibility, self-efficacy, and response efficacy variables, contrary to convention in EPPM research. Implications for breast density research and EPPM theorizing are discussed in light of these findings.

Continuing Medical Education as a Translational Science Opportunity for Health Communication Researchers: The BCERP Model

Health communication researchers often work across health issues to engage in research that bridges distance between bench scientists and practitioners. This translational activity is essential to increase the likelihood that emerging science from the laboratory makes it into the hands of health professionals who can integrate it into their everyday practice with patients. An underutilized translational approach by communication researchers is the development of continuing medical education (CME) opportunities that incorporate a communication science approach to the uptake of recommended practices based on emerging science. This manuscript explains the nature of translational science, highlights the role of CME as an integral strategy for engaging in it, and then provides the exemplar of a training and evaluation project funded by the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences for the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program (BCERP). Lessons learned are discussed as they relate to developing a translational opportunity for the BCERP.