Fatalism in breast cancer and performing mammography on women with or without a family history of breast cancer

Abstract

Background Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women, and in those with a positive family history, it is important to perform mammography. One of the probable barriers in doing mammography is fatalism. Methods This is a descriptive/cross-sectional study conducted on 400 women residing in Isfahan, Iran, randomly selected in 2017. Sampling was done randomly among the enrolled women in Health Integrity System. The data collection tool was a questionnaire regarding the demographic-fertility information and fatalism. The data analysis was done by SPSS software. A P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The results showed that the mean rate of fatalism was 59.5 ± 23.2 in women with the experience of mammography, and 65.9±18.7 in women without the experience. Moreover, the mean rate of fatalism was 73.1±15.2 in subjects with a family history of breast cancer, and 59.3 ± 22.5 in those no family history related to this condition. Accordingly, fatalism was statistically significant associated (P < 0.001) with a family history of breast cancer and experience of mammography. There was no significant relationship between demographic information and fatalism (P > 0.05). Conclusion The results indicated that fatalism in women with no experience of mammography was higher than in those with a positive history. Regarding the necessity of mammography in women with a family history of breast cancer, the required interventions seem to be essential to changing the viewpoints of women regarding the importance and effect of mammography as a screening method for breast cancer.

Determinants of Intention to Participate in Breast Cancer Screening among Urban Chinese Women: An Application of the Protection Motivation Theory

“…For example, medical history was indirectly associated with screening intention mediated through response cost, so there was a lower probability of mammography among women with a medical history. One possible explanation is that fatalism is more common in women with a medical history [ 52 ]. Previous studies have indicated that women with a family history of breast cancer or with a history of benign breast disease, who are more likely to believe in fatalism, may consider mammography an ineffective and high-cost screening method [ 52 , 53 , 54 ].…”

“…One possible explanation is that fatalism is more common in women with a medical history [ 52 ]. Previous studies have indicated that women with a family history of breast cancer or with a history of benign breast disease, who are more likely to believe in fatalism, may consider mammography an ineffective and high-cost screening method [ 52 , 53 , 54 ]. This may also explain the positive association between medical history and response cost, suggesting that in addition to PMT subconstructs, breast cancer screening programs might also benefit by considering these socio-demographic factors.…”

Mammogram uptake and barriers among Palestinian women attending primary health care in North Palestine

“…These findings are consistent with cancer fatalistic beliefs, which claim that an external force controls all events or actions in a person's life [ 20 ]. An inverse relationship between cancer fatalistic attitudes and mammography uptake has been observed in the literature [ 21 , 22 ]. This finding emphasises the significance of further investigating Palestinian women's perceived cancer fatalistic attitudes and discussing them as part of cancer prevention programs.…”

A review of barriers and facilitators to mammography in Asian women

“…Cancer fatalism is a set of attitudes and behaviours that suggest cancer screening and treatment is futile and disease prevention is beyond human control [17,76,[93][94][95]. Researchers believe that the link between cancer and fatalism results from poverty, low education and old age [95,96], and is also higher in people with no history of mammography [69]. Women in many Asian countries believe that death and life are our fate, which cannot be changed.…”