Beliefs, fear and awareness of women about breast cancer: Effects on mammography screening practices.
Lida Emami, Akram Ghahramanian, Azad Rahmani and 3 others
PMID 33570277WHAT IT FOUND
Only 38.2% of Iranian women aged 40 and older had a mammogram in the last 24 months.
Confidence, feeling at risk and motivation were linked with screening; barriers were linked with less screening. Fear, fatalism and awareness were not.
Key findings
01Only 38.2% of participants had a mammogram record within the last 24 months.
02In logistic regression, self-efficacy (odds ratio 5.36), susceptibility (odds ratio 2.83) and health motivation (odds ratio 2.11) were positively associated with mammography practice, while barriers (odds ratio 0.25) were inversely associated.
03Fear, fatalism and awareness were not significantly associated with mammography practice.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a cross-sectional questionnaire study, so it cannot show that beliefs caused mammography practice or that changing beliefs will increase screening. The sample was limited to women aged 40 and older attending selected health centres in Tabriz, Iran, so results may not apply to other regions or women who do not attend these centres. The authors state the sample was largely uneducated women, which may limit generalizability. The paper says 152 women completed questionnaires and that 8 participants with missing data were excluded, so the final analysed number is not fully clear. No mammography counselling intervention was tested, so the findings do not show that nurses' counselling will change screening behaviour.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest. The article is marked as supported by non-U.S. government funding, but the supplied text does not name the funder.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that higher confidence or feeling at risk will make women attend mammography. This study measured beliefs and screening at the same time and did not test an intervention.