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

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer affects women's lives worldwide, yet early detection is an effective strategy for reducing mortality. The participation of women in mammography screening is linked to their knowledge, attitudes and perceived barriers. Objectives: Our study aims to assess mammography screening uptake and barriers among women attending primary healthcare centres (PHCs) in northern Palestine. Methods: Using an interviewer administered questionnaire, we used a cross-sectional study design to determine mammography screening uptake, knowledge and barriers among 357 women attending PHCs in Northern Palestine between December 2018 and March 2019. Results: The mean age was 50 years. The majority (69.2%) were considered to have adequate knowledge about breast cancer and mammography screening. Mammography screening uptake among the participants was 37%. Almost 85% of the women had a positive attitude towards breastfeeding as a prophylaxis factor against breast cancer, while the most frequent barrier to mammography screening was that the participants believed they did not have any symptoms (28.6%), followed by 22.1% of them who did not want to know if they had breast cancer. Conclusion: The findings of this study highlighted the low mammography uptake among Palestinian women despite the adequate knowledge of those women and the fully accessible and free screening programme. Hence, interventional strategies should be implemented at several levels to enhance mammogram uptake.