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Women's attitudes toward screening mammography.
S M Glockner1, M G Holden, S V Hilton
1Santa Monica Hospital, California.
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
|March 1, 1992
Summary
Physician recommendation is the top incentive for mammography screening among women. Understanding patient perceptions of incentives and deterrents, like cost and fear, can improve screening compliance.
Area of Science:
- Radiology
- Public Health
- Women's Health
Background:
- Mammography is an effective screening tool for asymptomatic women but suffers from low physician and patient compliance.
- Understanding patient-perceived barriers and motivators is crucial for improving mammography utilization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and analyze women's perceived incentives and deterrents for undergoing mammography screening.
- To explore how demographic, doctor-patient relationship, and individual factors influence these perceptions.
Main Methods:
- Administered questionnaires to 381 asymptomatic women at a university mammography clinic.
- Utilized factor analysis to group perceived incentives and deterrents.
- Compared the significance of these factors across various demographic and individual characteristics.
Main Results:
- Top incentives: doctor's recommendation, personal experience, media, others' recommendation, breast symptoms.
- Top deterrents: cost, fear of medical intervention, unnecessary screening, time demands, transportation difficulties.
- Doctor's recommendation was the highest incentive across all groups; younger women prioritized personal experience, older women cited cost concerns.
- Physician-initiated discussions and gynecologist recommendations significantly increased incentive perception.
Conclusions:
- Physician recommendation is the most significant incentive for mammography screening.
- Addressing patient-perceived deterrents, particularly cost and fear, is essential.
- Enhancing doctor-patient communication and gynecologist involvement can improve screening rates.