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Perceptions of Health Promotion and Cancer Prevention Among Adults in Working-Class Occupations and Neighborhoods

Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, and Department of Family Medicine, Brown Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island, roberta_goldman{at}mhri.org

Elizabeth Barbeau, PhD, MPH

Center for Community-Based Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts

Mary Kay Hunt, RD, MPH

Center for Community-Based Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts

Dolores Acevedo-Garcia, PhD

Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts

Karen M. Emmons, PhD

Center for Community-Based Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts

Joshua Gagne, MA

Center for Community-Based Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts

Glorian Sorensen, PhD, MPH

Center for Community-Based Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts

A social-contextual approach to cancer prevention among participants associated with the working class may result in behavior-change messages that are more relevant to them and contribute to a reduction in health disparities among classes. This article reports findings from a qualitative study of adults in working-class occupations and/or living in predominantly working-class neighborhoods that was designed to explore the circumstances influencing perceptions of health promotion, disease prevention, and cancer-risk reduction. Participants made only a weak connection between cancer prevention and general health-promotion behaviors. Results suggest that the complexity of communicating cancer-prevention messages with this audience may be compounded by their unfamiliarity with cancer prevention and their lack of recognition that certain behaviors may reduce cancer risk. Therefore, developing messages that consider the social context of participants' lives and link cancer prevention with health promotion, while maintaining cancer prevention as a distinct subcategory, may prove to be an effective education strategy.

Key Words: cancer prevention • health promotion/disease prevention • qualitative research • social context • working class • health disparities • health education

This version was published on December 1, 2008

Health Education & Behavior, Vol. 35, No. 6, 777-790 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1090198106291375


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