IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/ajecsc/v82y2023i3p263-279.html

Religion as a social determinant of women's cancer screening: Evidence from state level data for policy and resource allocation

Author

Listed:
  • Simon K. Medcalfe
  • Catherine P. Slade
  • Wendy Habegger

Abstract

Religion as a Social Determinant of Health (SDOH) is established in relevant literature. The challenge is to translate the theoretical and empirical relationship between religion and health to practical applications and policymaking to build partnerships between state government entities and faith‐based organizations. Our manuscript focuses on the connection between adherence to religion and the pernicious public health problem of cancer in women. Using publicly available state level data and Ordinary Least Square regression analysis, we identify the SDOH, including adherence to religion, that are associated with state level rates of cancer screening for women. We confirm that states with higher levels of adherence to religion have higher rates of cancer screening for women including Pap smear and mammogram. Our results show that the magnitude of the effect of adherence to religion and state level rates of cancer screening for women is similar to that of other key SDOH. Our results provide state‐level targets for population health improvements that should be addressed with policy that recognizes and encourages partnerships with faith‐based organizations to improve health for women.

Suggested Citation

  • Simon K. Medcalfe & Catherine P. Slade & Wendy Habegger, 2023. "Religion as a social determinant of women's cancer screening: Evidence from state level data for policy and resource allocation," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 82(3), pages 263-279, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ajecsc:v:82:y:2023:i:3:p:263-279
    DOI: 10.1111/ajes.12507
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ajes.12507
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/ajes.12507?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anthony Bopp, 2009. "State Variations in Hospital Expenditures: An Ecological Approach," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 15(2), pages 226-232, May.
    2. Kelsey Lucyk & Lindsay McLaren, 2017. "Taking stock of the social determinants of health: A scoping review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(5), pages 1-24, May.
    3. Abeer G Alharbi & M Mahmud Khan & Ronnie Horner & Heather Brandt & Cole Chapman, 2019. "Impact of Medicaid coverage expansion under the Affordable Care Act on mammography and pap tests utilization among low-income women," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(4), pages 1-15, April.
    4. Sameera Fazili, 2017. "Can Community Development Improve Health? Emerging Opportunities for Collaboration between the Health and Community Development Sectors," FRB Atlanta Community and Economic Development Discussion Paper 2017-3, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    5. repec:kap:iaecre:v:15:y:2009:i:2:p:226-232 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Jiang, Feng & John, Kose & Li, C. Wei & Qian, Yiming, 2018. "Earthly Reward to the Religious: Religiosity and the Costs of Public and Private Debt," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(5), pages 2131-2160, October.
    7. Ruqaiijah Yearby, 2018. "Racial Disparities in Health Status and Access to Healthcare: The Continuation of Inequality in the United States Due to Structural Racism," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 77(3-4), pages 1113-1152, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Leon Zolotoy & Don O’Sullivan & Keke Song, 2021. "The Role of Ethical Standards in the Relationship Between Religious Social Norms and M&A Announcement Returns," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(4), pages 721-742, May.
    2. Ana Gama & João Victor Rocha & Maria J. Marques & Sofia Azeredo-Lopes & Ana Rita Pedro & Sónia Dias, 2022. "How Did the COVID-19 Pandemic Affect Migrant Populations in Lisbon, Portugal? A Study on Perceived Effects on Health and Economic Condition," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-10, February.
    3. repec:osf:osfxxx:5xerm_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Ines Gharbi & Mounira Hamed‐Sidhom & Khaled Hussainey & Janet Ganouati, 2021. "Religiosity and financial distress in U.S. firms," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(3), pages 3902-3915, July.
    5. Alexander Maas & Liang Lu, 2021. "Elections have Consequences: Partisan Politics may be Literally Killing Us," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 45-56, January.
    6. Michal Hrivnák & Peter Moritz & Katarína Melichová & Soňa Bellérová, 2023. "Does Civic Engagement Support Relational and Mental Health of Urban Population?," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-16, February.
    7. Jiao, Jie & Yan, An & Yin, Wei, 2025. "The effect of religiosity on trust and altruism: Evidence from China’s household borrowing," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    8. Rami Salem & Ernest Ezeani & Xi Song, 2023. "The relationship between religiosity and voluntary disclosure quality: a cross-country evidence from the banking sector," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 983-1023, April.
    9. Júlia Alves Menezes & Ana Paula Madureira & Rhavena Barbosa dos Santos & Isabela de Brito Duval & Pedro Regoto & Carina Margonari & Martha Macêdo de Lima Barata & Ulisses Confalonieri, 2021. "Analyzing Spatial Patterns of Health Vulnerability to Drought in the Brazilian Semiarid Region," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-19, June.
    10. Caryn N. Bell & Jordan Kerr & Jessica L. Young, 2019. "Associations between Obesity, Obesogenic Environments, and Structural Racism Vary by County-Level Racial Composition," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-17, March.
    11. Toufiq Nazrul & Adam Esplin & Kevin E. Dow & David M. Folsom, 2022. "Religiosity at the Top and Annual Report Readability," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-19, October.
    12. Anuli Njoku & Marcelin Joseph & Rochelle Felix, 2021. "Changing the Narrative: Structural Barriers and Racial and Ethnic Inequities in COVID-19 Vaccination," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-14, September.
    13. Dye, Timothy De Ver & Quiñones Tavárez, Zahira & Rivera, Ivelisse & Cardona Cordero, Nancy, 2024. "Social determinants of participation in genetic research among Puerto Ricans and in the Puerto Rican diaspora," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 362(C).
    14. Boonlert-U-Thai, Kriengkrai & Kitiwong, Weerapong & Suttipun, Muttanachai, 2025. "Religiosity, secrecy culture, and corporate social responsibility report assurance," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    15. Kelsey J. Picha & Cailee E. Welch Bacon & R. Curt Bay & Joy H. Lewis & Alison R. Snyder Valier, 2023. "Athletic Trainers’ Perceptions of and Experience with Social Determinants of Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(8), pages 1-11, April.
    16. Hassan, M. Kabir & Karim, Md. Sydul & Kozlowski, Steven E., 2022. "Implications of public corruption for local firms: Evidence from corporate debt maturity," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    17. James Conklin & Moussa Diop & Mingming Qiu, 2022. "Religion and Mortgage Misrepresentation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(1), pages 273-295, August.
    18. Lin, Weizheng & Wang, Chih-Wei & Li, Ying-Jie & Chen, Jian-Yun, 2025. "From green to digital: Exploring the role of ecological footprints on cybersecurity risk," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    19. Meng-Jung Wen & Martha Maurer & Luke Schwerer & Nassim Sarkarati & Ugboaku Maryann Egbujor & Jenna Nordin & Sharon D. Williams & Yao Liu & Olayinka O. Shiyanbola, 2022. "Perspectives on a Novel Culturally Tailored Diabetes Self-Management Program for African Americans: A Qualitative Study of Healthcare Professionals and Organizational Leaders," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-15, October.
    20. Berry-Stölzle, Thomas R. & Irlbeck, Steven, 2021. "Religiosity and risk taking: Is there a demand-side effect?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    21. Mathieu Gomes & Sylvain Marsat & Jonathan Peillex & Guillaume Pijourlet, 2024. "Does religiosity influence corporate greenwashing behavior ?," Post-Print hal-04360447, HAL.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:ajecsc:v:82:y:2023:i:3:p:263-279. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0002-9246 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.