Mammographic screening attendance among immigrant and minority women: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background Groups of immigrant and minority women are more often diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer than other women. Mammographic screening aims to reduce mortality from breast cancer through early detection in asymptomatic women. Purpose To compare mammographic screening attendance among immigrant and minority women to that of other women. Material and Methods A literature search of PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, and Cochrane identified 1369 papers published between January 1995 and March 2016. In the review, we included 33 studies investigating mammographic screening attendance among immigrant and/or minority women. In a meta-analysis, we included 19 of the studies that compared attendance among immigrant and/or minority women with that among other women, using a random effects model. Results The review included studies from Europe, North America, and Oceania, with 42,666,093 observations of opportunities for mammographic screening. Attendance was generally lower among immigrant and minority women compared to other women (46.2% vs. 55.0%; odds ratio = 0.64, 95% confidence interval = 0.56-0.73; P < 0.05, I= 99.9%). Non-Western immigrants had lower attendance rates than other immigrants. Conclusion Immigrant and minority women had lower mammographic screening attendance than other women, which could potentially put them at increased risk for more advanced breast cancer. This review emphasizes the importance of continued efforts to engage with the preventative health needs of diverse populations in attempts to achieve equality in access to, and use of, care.

Gender, letters, relatives, and God: mediating actors in mammographic screening among Pakistani women in Norway

“…The study was part of a larger research project using several different approaches to investigate breast cancer and breast cancer screening attendance among immigrant women. So far, the project has demonstrated that immigrant and minority women have lower attendance rates than other women across the world (20), that this is the case also in Norway, both overall and for all levels of all sociodemographic factors studied (3,5), and that mammographic screening performance measures differ between immigrants and non-immigrants in Norway (21).…”

Systematic reviews as a “lens of evidence”: Determinants of participation in breast cancer screening

“…In general, the reviews that concluded on questionable impact of socio-economic determinants were older (searched before 2003) and relied on both crosssectional and prospective studies, whereas the positively framed reviews were based on more recent crosssectional evidence. 14,15,23,24 Intentions to screening was the only consistent patient's predisposing factor associated with BCS attendance (Table 1). 14,15 Physician predisposing factors (demographics, gender, ethnicity, language, beliefs, attitudes, prior clinical experience, and personal health practices) were not reported in the summarized literature.…”

Effect of culturally tailored education on attendance at mammography and the Papanicolaou test

“…Public cancer screening programs using mammography and the Papanicolaou (Pap) test have successfully decreased breast and cervical cancer mortality in Western countries over the past decades . However, ethnic minority women have low participation rates in breast and cervical cancer screening in the United States, Europe, Canada, and Australia . Cancer causes extreme suffering for each woman and her family.…”