Young Jordanian women's health beliefs about mammography

This descriptive study assesses the beliefs held by a group of young Jordanian women toward mammography utilization as a screening procedure for breast cancer. The Health Belief Model (HBM) is the theoretical framework of this study. Champion's (1993) translated HBM tool was utilized as the self-administered questionnaire that was filled in by all participants in this study. The sample consisted of young (< or = 45 years) Jordanian women chosen out of convenience from among those visiting one of the largest maternal and child health centers in Amman. The overall results indicated favorable beliefs toward the use of mammography, coupled with the majority of women (76%) voicing their agreement with the overall benefits of mammography, and 24% were either not in agreement with or unsure about these benefits. Although about half of the sample (49%) perceived barriers to utilizing mammography, the vast majority (85%), reported an overall agreement with the statements of the health motivation subscale. There were no significant differences in women's beliefs as a function of their subgroups of age, education, or insurance status. Nevertheless, when compared with a group of older women who had undergone mammography, significant differences (in favor of the older group) were reported between the two samples, especially in terms of the responses given to selected preventive statements such as "wanting to discover health problems early" (t = 2.27, p = .024) and "eating a well-balanced meal" (t = 1.92, p = .05). Implications for nursing practice, such as recognizing culturally specific barriers and enhancing health education programs to trigger mammography utilization, were addressed.