Shedding light on women's help seeking behaviour for self discovered breast symptoms

O’Mahony, Máirín; McCarthy, Geraldine; Corcoran, Paul; Hegarty, Josephine

doi:10.1016/j.ejon.2013.03.012

Cited by 40 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…One (O'Mahony et al . ) of the two studies with non‐significant results had a large sample size of 449 patients and found that symptom disclosure was not significantly associated with delay in the patient interval only after controlling for confounding in multivariable analyses.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…), two in Ireland (O'Mahony & Hegarty ; O'Mahony et al . ), one in Italy (Montella et al . ), one in New Zealand (Meechan et al .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…; O'Mahony et al . ) studies that examined this association reported statistically significant effects and ORs far from the null, although only two of these studies (Burgess et al . ; Gullatte et al .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Identifying predictors of delayed diagnoses in symptomatic breast cancer: a scoping review

et al. 2016

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Delayed diagnosis of breast cancer can adversely impact patient outcomes. To better understand this issue, we conducted a scoping review of literature from 1996 to 2015 that examined predictors of delayed presentation and diagnosis among women with breast cancer symptoms. We performed searches to identify studies of predictors of the time from symptom onset to first presentation (the patient interval), first presentation to diagnosis (the diagnostic interval) and symptom onset to diagnosis (the total interval) among women with breast cancer symptoms. Two reviewers independently reviewed and abstracted the findings of these studies. Of the 22 studies included in this review, 16 examined predictors of the patient interval, six examined predictors of the diagnostic interval and four examined predictors of the total interval. A total of 116 predictors were examined; three had evidence of an association with a less timely diagnosis: not disclosing symptoms to others, non-lump breast symptoms and African American ethnicity. Improving awareness of atypical breast cancer symptoms and encouraging disclosure could improve the timeliness of a breast cancer diagnosis. Access concerns for vulnerable groups need to be addressed. Future research should be more purposeful in its choice of predictors, possibly through the use of established conceptual frameworks.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…), two in Ireland (O'Mahony & Hegarty ; O'Mahony et al . ), one in Italy (Montella et al . ), one in New Zealand (Meechan et al .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Identifying predictors of delayed diagnoses in symptomatic breast cancer: a scoping review

et al. 2016

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“…Prior literature exploring reasons for delayed help-seeking suggests that women subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer may attribute non-lump breast symptoms to other non-malignant causes such as hormonal changes, trauma, or breastfeeding [15], [16], [17]. While this provides an explanation of why some women may experience long intervals to presentation, there has been limited examination of diagnostic timeliness using population-based studies and large representative samples of women with breast cancer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Typical and atypical presenting symptoms of breast cancer and their associations with diagnostic intervals: Evidence from a national audit of cancer diagnosis

Koo

Wagner

Abel

et al. 2017

Cancer Epidemiology

116

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HighlightsA minority of women with breast cancer experience substantial diagnostic delays.Our findings suggest that around 1 in 6 women had symptoms other than breast lump.On average, women experienced longer patient intervals than primary care intervals.Women with ‘non-lump’ or ‘both lump and non-lump’ symptoms delayed seeking help.Symptom awareness campaigns should further emphasise non-lump breast symptoms.

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“…within thirty days was between 60% (G€ oz€ um & Tuzcu, 2018; G€ oz€ um & Tuzcu, 2018) and 70%(O'Mahony et al, 2013). Between9% (Koo et al, 2017) and 42%…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

Health and health belief factors associated with screening and help‐seeking behaviours for breast cancer: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of the European evidence

Grimley

Kato²,

Grunfeld

2019

British J Health Psychol

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Purpose. The aim of this systematic review was to identify health or health belief factors associated with mammography attendance or with self-initiated medical help-seeking for breast cancer symptoms among women in Europe.Methods. Five databases were searched for articles published between 2005 and 2018. Meta-analyses were conducted for 13 factors related to screening attendance and two factors associated with help-seeking behaviour. Where there were too few studies to include in the meta-analysis, a narrative synthesis was undertaken.Results. Sixty-five studies were included. Never having had cervical screening (d = À.72, p < .001) and higher perceived barriers to mammography (d = À.40, p < .001) were associated with lower levels of screening attendance. Possessing health insurance (d = .49, p < .001), greater perceived benefits (d = .31, p < .001) and motivation (d = .36, p = .003) towards screening, and higher perceived seriousness (d = .24, p = .019) and susceptibility (d = .20, p = .024) towards breast cancer were associated with a higher level of screening attendance. Presenting with a non-lump symptom was associated with a longer time to presentation (d = .32, p < .001). The narrative synthesis revealed that previous benign breast disease was associated with a higher level of screening attendance but with a longer time to presentation.Conclusions. The review identified key similarities in factors associated with screening and help-seeking behaviours which offer scope for combined interventions aimed at women that target both behaviours. Furthermore, the review highlighted that fewer studies have focused on help-seeking behaviour, despite two thirds of breast cancer cases being self-detected. Future research should further examine predictors of help-seeking behaviour including a focus on modifiable factors, such as BMI, and physical activity. What is already known on this subject?Attending regular breast screening appointments and seeking help promptly on self-discovery of a breast symptom are important as early detection has been shown to be associated with better prognosis. Demographic, socio-economic, and health factors are predictors of screening and help-seeking behaviours.Both screening and help-seeking behaviours are potential health care-avoiding actions, and women who delay seeking help for a breast symptom are also less likely to attend screening. What does this study add?This study provides evidence of shared health beliefs and health factors that predict both screening attendance and help-seeking, which could be targeted in future combined health interventions to promote early detection. Health factors associated with screening attendance in Europe may differ from other locations, such as the United States and Australia. This study provides a call to action for more European research examining help-seeking behaviour using quantitative methodology and larger samples.

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Shedding light on women's help seeking behaviour for self discovered breast symptoms

Cited by 40 publications

References 38 publications

Identifying predictors of delayed diagnoses in symptomatic breast cancer: a scoping review

Identifying predictors of delayed diagnoses in symptomatic breast cancer: a scoping review

Typical and atypical presenting symptoms of breast cancer and their associations with diagnostic intervals: Evidence from a national audit of cancer diagnosis

Health and health belief factors associated with screening and help‐seeking behaviours for breast cancer: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of the European evidence

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