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Is Canadian women's breast cancer screening behaviour associated with having a family doctor?
Barbara Poole1, Charlyn Black, Karen Gelmon
1Cancer Control Research, BC Cancer Agency, 675 W 10th Ave, 2nd Floor, Suite 115, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1L3. bpoole@bccancer.bc.ca
Objective:
To assess whether regular care from a family physician is associated with regular participation in screening mammography.
Design:
Secondary analysis of the 2006 Canadian Community Health Survey data.
Setting:
Canada.
Participants:
Cross-sectional sample of 15 195 Canadian women aged 50 to 69 years.
Main Outcome Measures:
The outcome of interest was screening mammography within the past 2 years; the key explanatory factor was active interaction with a family physician. Control factors included sociodemographic characteristics, other cancer screening behaviour, and other cancer risk habits.
Results:
Active interaction with a regular family doctor doubled the odds that a woman had received a recent screening mammogram. Other cancer screening and preventive measures were also strongly associated with that outcome. A woman who had had a recent Papanicolaou test was more than 3 times as likely to have had a recent mammogram; nonsmokers were much more likely to have had a recent mammogram than smokers.
Conclusion:
Adults who receive regular care from family physicians are more likely to participate in screening mammography within the recommended time frames.
