Understanding mammography behavior among the west of Iranian women: stage of change model testing

Abstract

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in industrial countries and the third one in developing countries. The aim of this study was determined the stages of change of mammography screening behavior among women. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 women aged 30 to 60 years old referred to health centers in Kermanshah County, the west of Iran, during 2016, who were randomly selected to participate in the study. Data collected by standard questioner and were analyzed by SPSS version 21. The mean age of respondents was 39.61 years [SD: 8.28]. Our findings indicated, nearly 59% (236/400), 27.3% (109/400), 2.5% (10/400), 9.3% (37/400), and 1.8% (7/400) of the respondents reported that pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance, respectively. Our results showed most of the women were in pre-contemplation and contemplation stages regarding doing mammography. These results can be highly useful to the researchers in designing effective interventional plans for achieving the intended objectives.