Explaining variations in breast cancer screening across European countries

Abstract

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A Life Course Perspective on Health Trajectories and Transitions

“…Very similar age trajectories can be observed for each cohort, suggesting no 'true' age effects. The cross-national comparative approach aids in framing these period effects within the context of national screening policies, which have already been empirically linked to the large country-differences in mammography screening (Wübker 2014), illustrated in Fig. 6.4.…”

“…However, the existing studies have already revealed substantial cross-national variation in preventive health care habits, including mammography screening (e.g. Wübker 2014). An important question now relates to which institutional differences are the driving forces behind this cross-national variation (Blane et al 2007).…”

“…An important question now relates to which institutional differences are the driving forces behind this cross-national variation (Blane et al 2007). For mammography screening, it seems that general (health care) indicators (such as health care expenditure, number of physicians, and gross domestic product) do not matter (Jusot et al 2011), but that the country-specific characteristics of mammography screening policies should be focused upon (Wübker 2014).…”

Does the Letter Matter (and for Everyone)? Quasi-Experimental Evidence on the Effects of Home Invitation on Mammography Uptake

“…Health information plays an important role in such decision, affecting the consumers' perceived marginal benefits of health care (Kenkel, 1990). In our specific case, empirical evidence suggests that women tend to have false perceptions of the risks and seriousness of breast cancer (Wuebker, 2013) and this may reduce dramatically their incentive to demand a mammography. However, identifying the impact of information on preventive decisions is complicated because unobserved individual characteristics affect both the decision to do a mammography and the individual efforts to acquire information.…”

“…Underuse of preventive care is a large concern for European countries. On average, only 50 per cent of women get an appropriate mammography in Europe, besides, many other countries exhibit sensibly lower rates and high intra-country variation (Carrieri and Wuebker, 2013;Wuebker, 2013). While screening programs are often indicated as a good strategy to increase preventive care use (i.e.…”