Date of Award

2015

Embargo Period

8-1-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College

College of Nursing

First Advisor

Lynne Nemeth

Second Advisor

Martina Mueller

Third Advisor

Gail Stuart

Fourth Advisor

Michele Eliason

Abstract

Research has highlighted the lower prevalence of cervical cancer screening among lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women, as compared to the general female population. Numerous factors that influence screening behaviors among LBQ women have been identified; however, so little is still known about the nature of LBQ women's participation in screening. This dissertation is a compendium of three manuscripts that represent two distinct but related studies that have implications to cervical cancer screening among LBQ women. The first manuscript details a qualitative grounded theory study that aimed to understand how LBQ women experience health care systems. The second and third manuscripts detail a mixed methods study that examined cervical cancer screening behaviors of LBQ women using American Cancer Society guidelines as the standards for comparison, and determined factors that influenced participation in cervical cancer screening. The findings from the first qualitative study show an explanatory conceptual framework that represents three distinct phases of the health care experience. The findings from the mixed method study show the factors that were associated with cervical screening behavior of LBQ women. The findings of the two studies are finally integrated at the conclusion of this dissertation.

Rights

All rights reserved. Copyright is held by the author.

Download

Share

COinS