Evolution of accesses to information on breast cancer and screening on the Brazilian National Cancer Institute website: an exploratory study

Abstract

Delays in diagnosis due to low Breast Cancer awareness are widespread in Brazil maybe owing to ineffective strategies to raise attention on early diagnosis. As a proxy of collective interest in BC screanning (BCS) we studied the monthly accesses to BC and BCS webpages in INCA's website along 48 months. A log analyzer built a time serie (2006-2009) of BC and BCS monthly means, which oscilations were studied by analysis of variance (ANOVA). We found significant increasing accesses to BC and transient "attention peaks". Enlargement in BC/BCS differences along all period were caused by increasing accesses to BC and decreasing/minor/stable oscillations to SBC pages. These results are consistent with previous reports on increasing interest to BC contrasting with indifference on BCS. In the context of an exploratory study, we discussed some aspects: weakness of a "prevention culture"; lack of confidence in health system and screening programs; "celebrity effect" in the context of media framing; collective perception of risks heightened by perception of social vulnerability. Findings suggest that culture-tailored communication strategies would be necessary to inform Brazilian people about BCS. Future research is needed to study social perceptions and constructions on BC topics.

Breast cancer on social media: a quali-quantitative study on the credibility and content type of the most shared news stories

“…Moreover, a study conducted in Hungary revealed most respondents were unaware of the fact that breast cancer self-examination should be initiated two decades earlier than mammography, when women turn twenty years old [ 42 ]. The lack of knowledge and awareness on breast cancer is also an identified concern in a number of highly populated countries, such as Ethiopia [ 43 ], Nigeria [ 44 ], and Brazil [ 45 ]. A systematic review of breast cancer screening discourse on social media [ 46 ] indicates there is a substantial presence of unscientific statements shared by lay individuals about the topic, such as “mammography causes breast cancer”, or “breast cancer can be prevented by organic food”.…”

Using Google Trends Data to Study Public Interest in Breast Cancer Screening in Brazil: Why Not a Pink February?

“…Interest in breast cancer always outperformed (in absolute and relative terms) mammography, but showed erratic patterns over the years and irregular growth in annual means. This may be consequent to events without seasonality, linked to the high incidence of new cases and constant media coverage—especially among celebrities who seem to boost the number of hits [ 29 , 30 ].…”

“…There are several reports in the literature concerning campaigns and health interventions based on “what” and “how” (selection of qualified information and proper vehicles to deliver messages) [ 35 , 36 ], “where” (environments in which campaigns would be more effective) [ 37 , 38 ], and “who” (who are the best counselors) [ 30 , 39 , 40 ]. Nonetheless, reports based on “when”—the ideal timing for intervention—are not so frequent.…”

Detecção precoce do câncer de mama na mídia brasileira no Outubro Rosa

“…O papel da mídia na comunicação sobre o câncer de mama vem sendo problematizado em estudos em nível internacional (ABIGHANNAM; CHILEK; KOH, 2018) e nacional (SIMEÃO et al, 2016;VASCONCELLOS-SILVA;SORMUNEN;CRAFTMAN, 2018). Porém, a temática específica que envolve a detecção precoce, e especialmente as questões contemporâneas sobre o rastreamento mamográfico, são ainda pouco estudadas.…”