Factors that influence mammography screening behaviour: A qualitative study of Greek women's experiences

Abstract

Aim: To identify the factors that influence mammography screening behaviour in a sample of Greek women.Methods/Sample: Data were collected in Athens-Greece, from individuals who were members of six women's associations. A subset of 33 women were interviewed about their screening behaviour and experiences out of the 186 women who completed an initial questionnaire. This paper focuses on the findings revealed from the interviews.Women's associations were approached for the recruitment of the interviewees.Results: Influences arising from women's immediate networks, such as family and close friends, appeared to be of essential importance in relation to their screening behaviour, while influences from their broader networks were of moderate impact.Fear acted as a motivator but also as a barrier in relation to mammography screening participation. Experiences that arose from engagement with the mammography screening processes were mostly characterized by having to overcome a variety of obstacles, such as long bureaucratic procedures and distrust in doctors. Conclusions:The interpersonal relationships between women and their social networks appeared to have an important and influential role in relation to breast screening behaviour. The quality of these relationships appeared to determine women's participation in mammography screening. It would appear that future practice needs to focus on these relationships in order to utilize them in a positive way. Future research is needed to explore this further.

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“…Related to this finding, Kaltsa, Holloway, and Cox (2013) found that family and close friends influenced women's mammography screening behaviour. Furthermore, in a study of pharmaceutical use in Maputo, Mozambique, Rodrigues (2016) showed that communities' and social networks' experiences with healthcare were an important factor when individuals evaluated and chose between different therapeutic resources.…”

Health beliefs, illness perceptions and determinants of breast screening uptake in Malta: a cross-sectional survey

“…On the other hand, the HBM is considered a weak predictor of behaviour change as it does not include the formation of an intention to change behaviour as a precursor to behavioural change, does not accommodate social and environmental influences or past behaviour, and assumes that human decision-making are rational [84]. In response to each model’s limitations, a combination of the two may determine behaviour likelihood [84, 85] and as shown in this study, their combination provided improved prediction of non-attendance (i.e. prediction of non-attendance improved significantly from 38.8% to 65.0% when combining all significant predictors).…”

Maltese Translation and Adaptation of Champion’s Health Belief Model Scale and the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire for Breast Screening Among Maltese Women

“…Moreover, health care providers can use the HBM and CSM to understand patients' needs, employing constructs of the models to guide patient interviewing. For instance, a breast screening invitation may be based on factors that influence BS behaviour such as existing perceptions of benefits and barriers and on psychological and social factors (Kalsta, Holloway & Cox, 2013).…”

“…Women were recruited from the breast screening centre and were breast screening attendees, aged 50-60 years. The convenience sample was recruited because it was felt that such women would be interested in engaging with such a Translation and adaptation of scales for breast screening among Maltese women 7 topic (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011), thereby giving access to a range of women with different backgrounds (Kalsta, Holloway & Cox, 2013). Women with prior history of breast cancer or breast surgery, those who sought breast cancer treatment as well as non-bilingual women were excluded.…”