The factors associated with changes in the stage of breast cancer screening behavior among the woman who are eligible for the Korean National Cancer Screening Program

Abstract

Objectives : This study was performed to evaluate the relationships between psychosocial characteristics and changes in the stage of breast cancer screening behavior. Methods : The 474 study subjects were randomly sampled from 21,459 women (age range, 40-70 years) who were eligible for the Korean National Cancer Screening Program in 2006 in Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do. The information, including behaviors and sociodemographic characteristics, attitudes, subjective norms and selfefficacy, was collected by trained interviewers via home visits. The breast cancer screening stages were grouped as precontemplation, contemplation, action, maintenance and relapse, according to Rakowski. Results : Of the 474 women, 18.8% were in the precontemplation stage, 23.3% were in the contemplation stage, 13.1% were in the action stage, 36.6% were in the maintenance stage, and 8.2% were in the relapse stage. The distribution of stages was associated with attitude, subjective norms and self-efficacy (p for trend