Factors associated with return for routine annual screening in an ovarian cancer screening program

Abstract

Objective-To identify clinical, demographic, dispositional and attitudinal variables associated with return for routine, annual transvaginal sonography (TVS) screening for ovarian cancer.Methods-Asymptomatic, average to high risk, women (n=585) participating in a free universitybased ovarian cancer screening program completed a baseline interview prior to undergoing an initial TVS screening test. During the baseline interview, demographic (age, education, partner status, race), clinical (family history of ovarian cancer), dispositional (optimism, health values), and attitudinal (perceptions of personal risk for ovarian cancer and effectiveness of screening, intentions to return for repeat routine screening, discomfort during screening, satisfaction with the screening process, ovarian cancer specific distress) information was obtained. Return for repeat screening was documented from screening program records.Results-Results from both multivariate proportional hazards and logistic regression analyses indicated that stated intentions to return for a repeat screening test within the next year was the strongest predictor of return for repeat screening. Possessing ≥ 12 years of education was also associated with a greater likelihood of repeat screening in both the proportional hazards and logistic regression analyses.Conclusions-Results provide further support for low education as a risk factor for suboptimal participation in cancer screening. Results also highlight the critical link between intentions to perform a health-protective behavior and subsequent performance of that behavior and suggest repeat screening could be enhanced by eliciting both an intention to return for annual ovarian cancer screening as well as a specific plan for implementing this intention. Keywordscancer detection; cancer screening; adherence; cancer control; transvaginal sonography; ovarian cancer All correspondence should be addressed to: Michael A. Andrykowski, Ph.D., Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY 40536-0086, USA; E-mail: mandry@uky.edu; office telephone (859) 323-6657; fax: (859) 323-5350. Precis: Prospective analyses indicated return for annual ovarian cancer screening was associated with greater education and stronger stated intentions to return for repeat annual screening.Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. The effectiveness of any approach to cancer screening is predicated upon appropriate uptake of that screening modality. It is important that screening eligible individuals participate in an initial cancer screen...

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