# Empowering Latinas to Obtain Guideline-Concordant Breast Cancer Screenings

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO · 2024 · $28,582

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Proposed Research Plan. Latinas are less likely to receive timely diagnostic care and are more likely to
experience greater psychosocial distress following screening mammograms, relative to non-Latino Whites
(NLW). Disparities in diagnostic resolution contribute to worse cancer outcomes (e.g., late stage cancer, worse
post-diagnosis quality of life). Past research has highlighted a major, modifiable, determinant of disparities –
social isolation. Latinas with abnormal mammogram results are less likely to engage their tight-knit family and
community networks. In part, this is due to limited community knowledge of diagnostic processes, which
contribute to greater cancer fatalism and stigma. Existing interventions (e.g., navigation) focus on clinical
barriers to diagnostic follow-up, but do not address the importance of social support access. The proposed
work will address these knowledge gaps. Ms. Martinez and her team will conduct a qualitative, semi-structured,
study with 25 Latinas who have received abnormal results through the parent project. Aim 1 is to identify
strategies that would enable Latinas' disclosure and access to social support, following an abnormal result.
Aim 2 is to identify barriers and facilitators for Latinas' promotion of diagnostic processes with communities.
These findings will inform health communications interventions that enable Latinas to (1) access social support
and (2) contribute to a supportive community environment for other Latinas who face diagnostic evaluation,
after a screening mammogram. This ancillary project will add to the parent study, which focuses on screening
mammography, through expansion to understanding social networks in the context of diagnostic follow-up.
Candidate. Ms. Martinez is a driven Latina graduate school trainee, as a BRCA carrier and family member of
multiple Latinas diagnosed with breast cancer. Her major goals are to develop interventions that can maximize
mental health among Latinas and other marginalized communities undergoing cancer-related diagnostic,
treatment, and survivorship care. Toward that goal, she is pursuing a Masters of Social Work degree in mental
health and recently served Community Engagement Core Manager for a research center focused on cancer
equity. This work equipped her with skills in community engaged research and clinical training in mental health.
However, she has major training gaps in health communications, qualitative research, and manuscript
development.
Career Development and Mentorship Plan. Ms. Martinez aims to become a highly impactful cancer equity
researcher at a research-intensive institution. Her training plan consists of didactic training (coursework,
seminars), workshops, participation in scientific conferences, manuscript / pilot grant preparation, and
personalized mentorship from a team that are experts in breast cancer equity, cancer-related mental well-
being, qualitative methods, community engagement, and health communications.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10992383
- **Project number:** 3R01CA261638-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Yamile Molina
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $28,582
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2024-03-01 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10992383

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10992383, Empowering Latinas to Obtain Guideline-Concordant Breast Cancer Screenings (3R01CA261638-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10992383. Licensed CC0.

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