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exams, pap tests and blood stool tests (Breen, 2001). They are also the least able to
acquire new information from the mass media due to limits of access. It is important to
examine the breast cancer information available in the social system and the resulting
knowledge levels on breast cancer among older women. That explains why the Healthy
People 2010 has included “improving the availability and dissemination of health-related
information (p. 17)” as a major objective to be achieved by the end of this decade (Dept.
of Health and Human Services, 2001).
An integral part of the social systems where they are produced, mass media are
complementary with other social establishments in the system including political,
economic and social entities (Tichenor, Donohue & Olien, 1999). In the health domain,
they serve as a bridge between the medical community and the citizens at large,
disseminating news and opinions on health and medicines and promoting positive
behaviors and lifestyles. Mass media perhaps are the primary channel through which the
general public acquires information on the general facts concerning breast cancer as well
as the latest development.
This study assessed the level of media publicity on breast cancer and evaluated older
women’s knowledge levels on this issue to see if there were significant knowledge gaps
contingent upon their levels of education and motivation. The net influence of each of
these competing variables on older women’s breast cancer knowledge was also weighed
and their interaction effects tested by the study.
Convention