Latitude

Contributing analyst: Jessica Reinis

Study Background

Latitude has completed phase 1 of its Pink Cocktail study, a survey of women aged 20 and older, which captured personal attitudes toward breast cancer and breast cancer prevention, as well as reactions to current messaging and organizations in support of the cause.

(Later, we’ll both quantitatively and qualitatively assess messaging reactions of these individuals–apart from the aggregate–in a real Web environment, and tie this to the corresponding attitudinal survey data.)

Fundamentally, Pink Cocktail is a project in support of the clear and accurate presentation of information by organizations and the medical community, the quality of proactive informedness in individuals, and personal actionability in one’s everyday life decisions. Read more here.

Walks, Rides, and Pink Ribbons Aside…

We thought we’d ask how women actually perceive the function of prominent, cause-oriented organizations in support of breast cancer.

Fewer than half of all woman felt that breast cancer organizations (such as The American Cancer Society and Susan G. Komen Fight For The Cure) were actively playing a role in treating, curing, or preventing breast cancer—with no significant differences for women who felt they were more active or aware of breast cancer issues than those identified as less so.

Women tended to perceive that these organizations serve support functions with higher visibility (generating awareness, fundraising)—rather than functions which are more actionable or closely connected to the cause (i.e. scientific research or programs that work directly with women to prevent or treat cancer).

“What kind of role do you think these organizations are actively playing in the fight against breast cancer?”

Two Conflicting Notions at One Time

In juxtaposition to this perception of limited actionability surrounding these organizations, the majority of women tended to hold simultaneously the dissonant notion that these organizations made them feel “hopeful”—with 64% of all women surveyed making monetary donations themselves.

Women seem to appreciate the umbrella of security that these large organizations generate, but ultimately feel uncertain about their efficacy.

“These organizations try hard, but I remain skeptical of their real impact on research efforts.”

This may relate to the belief that breast cancer is largely unpreventable—that there are no “better” options with respect to organized efforts.

Women most commonly felt empowered with regard to the idea of taking on more responsibility to live cancer-free, but tended to overestimate (based on research in the Breast Cancer Fund’s State of the Evidence) the impact of cancer-causing factors that are out of their control–78% felt genetics had a high-impact on the development of cancer; research suggests that 90% of breast cancer causes are preventable, and relate primarily to toxins in the environment—such as cleaning and personal care products, pesticides, and certain pharmaceutical drugs.

To learn more about Latitude’s Featured Projects, click here. Pink Cocktail study updates will be published on a rolling basis.

Header image courtesy of misspiano’s flickr, (cc) some rights reserved.