<p>Perceived Barriers and Awareness of Mammography Screening Among Saudi Women Attending Primary Health Centers</p>

Abstract

Purpose Mammography screening (MS) is an underutilized screening tool; although it is provided free of charge to the Saudi community. The present study aimed at assessing knowledge and barriers of mammography screening among women attending primary health centers in Aljouf region, Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out among 423 women aged 41–75 years attending ten primary health centers in Aljouf region, Saudi Arabia. Structured interviewing questionnaires were used for data collection. SPSS program, version 24 was used for data analysis. Results The least reported risk factors of BC in this study were early menarche (14.9%), first pregnancy after the age of 30 years (18%), and late menopause (18.7%). Concerning knowledge of MS, 50.8% of the women correctly identified that mammogram is the ideal method for detecting BC. The most encountered personal barriers towards MS were lack of information about mammogram (69.5%), fear of exposure to radiation (67.4%), fear of discovery of BC (62.9%), being busy all the time (62.2%), and fear of cancer treatment (61.9%). Regarding economic barriers, 40% of the participants reported that taking sick leave from work is difficult while 37.8% revealed that mammogram is costly. Concerning health system barriers, the most common barriers were fear of error in diagnosis (62.6%), long time to take medical appointment (57%), and preferring not to have a mammogram except after a doctor recommendation (52.7%). The present study showed that women’s education and residence significantly predicted their knowledge. Furthermore, women’s education and income significantly predicted their barriers towards MS. Conclusion Many barriers toward mammography screening were encountered in the present study. Addressing these barriers and raising awareness about MS may be of great value to increase its uptake by Saudi women.

Female Healthcare Workers’ Knowledge, Attitude towards Breast Cancer, and Perceived Barriers towards Mammogram Screening: A Multicenter Study in North Saudi Arabia

“…The current study found that the barriers to mammogram screening were significantly higher among Saudi nationals, divorced/widowers, diploma holders, and other HCWs categories such as pharmacists, lab technicians, and physiotherapists. Similar to our study findings, some other authors also found that lower education is one of the predictors of barriers to mammogram screening [ 16 , 30 ].…”

“…Moreover, the present study demonstrated that fear of discovering cancer, apprehension regarding radiation exposure, and embarrassment due to breast-related tests were the common barriers to mammogram screening uptake. Similar to the present study, some other studies conducted in the KSA and other Arab countries also reported that embarrassment due to breast examination, fear of discovering cancer, and fear of radiation were the common barriers faced by the women [ 16 , 18 ]. In contrast, a survey conducted in 2022 among Spanish health professionals reported that workload and financial limitations were the common barriers they faced [ 29 ].…”

“…Another study done in 2020 found a lower proportion of their study participants was aware of these risk factors. The possible reason for this variation could be the difference in study settings and inclusion and exclusion criteria [ 16 , 22 ]. Our study revealed that nearly half of the female HCWs had low knowledge of breast cancer risk factors and symptoms regarding overall knowledge categories.…”

“…Healthcare services utilization, including mammogram screening utilization by the public, is influenced by numerous barriers [ 16 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. Our study revealed that more than one-third of the HCWs working in the MOH were not aware of the MOH, Saudi Arabia’s recommendation for mammogram screening for breast cancer.…”

“…The present study used a standardized self-administered questionnaire prepared by a team of experts from general surgery, radiology, and public health departments based on existing pieces of literature [ 16 , 17 , 18 ]. The structured questionnaire was tested for required validity and reliability.…”