(Non)-Adherence to mammography screening: women’s constructions
Lea Hagoel, Gad Rennert
Department of Community Medicine and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine,
Technion, and Carmel Medical Center, Haifa (Israel)
Abstract
Breast cancer is a leading cause of death in women. Its dimensions
are of epidemic size. Screening mammography (MM) in women aged 50-74 has
been shown to reduce mortality. Yet adherence to the recommended frequency
of undergoing the test in Israel is very limited (up to 45 %). Health-policy
makers are in constant search for effective interventions to enhance women’s
par-ticipation. The medical team has been found to have a positive influence,
but population partici-pation rates are still low.
Benefits of MM screening are clearly viewed from the aggregate perspective.
These benefits may become questionable from the individual woman’s point
of view. This study undertook to exam-ine women’s constructions of reasons
for having or not having a MM in depth. Both women who attended a MM screening
test and women who were invited for the test but declined were inter-viewed.
The interview was based on Personal Construct Psychology techniques as
delineated by Tom Ravenette and others. The presentation will include an
analysis of these interviews and the women’s constructions as related to
their undergoing MM.
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