Do women living in northeast Anatolia get mammography screening? A hospital-focused cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background/Aim: In Turkey, women between 40–69 years of age are routinely subjected to mammography screening for breast cancer. Despite this, the mammography rate is only 28.9% in women aged 15 years and above. This is an indication that women in Turkey are not sufficiently interested in mammography screenings. This study aimed to determine the factors that affect the decision to not have mammography screening for women aged 40 and above. Methods: The study was designed as a hospital-focused cross-sectional study. The population of the study comprised 7,239 women aged 40 years and above. The sample size that would represent the population was calculated as 365 women with 50% prevalence, 95% confidence interval, and 5% deviation in the Epi Info program. A Chi-square test used in the binary analysis (P<0.05 was considered statistically significant); and backward LR logistic regression analysis was used in multiple analyses. Results: Based on the findings of the study, 57.0% of women did not have mammography screening. This was 2.047 times (CI: 2.341–5.841) higher among those living in rural areas when compared with women living in the city/district center, 2.639 times (CI: 1.291–3.247) higher in women with eight years or less of education as compared with those who had nine or more years of education, and 1.9 times (CI: 1.172–3.081) higher in women not informed by family doctor/family health staff (AH/ASE) when compared with women receiving information. Conclusion: The percentage of mammography screening is low in women over the age of 40. The risk factors were determined to be low education, rural areas of residence, and a lack of information provided by the family doctor.