Why do women refrain from mammography screening?

Non-participation in mammographic screening – experiences of women from a region in Sweden

“…These tensions may negatively affect the women's self-assessed health, which has been linked to non-participation in mammographic screening in another study [36]. In this present study, some women's experiences of unmanageable pain during the procedure and distress while waiting for the result of the mammogram are corroborated by previous studies' findings [20,22]. The fear of receiving a breast cancer diagnosis is not unrealistic because it was the leading cancer type among women in Sweden in 2016, accounting for a prevalence of 7558 women [37].…”

“…Additionally, being unable to influence when to participate in the screening, having to rely on public transportation or others' goodwill (when knowing about the previously existing mobile unit that addressed the need for proximity) and not being offered individual solutions are causes of the women's frustration and grief. The studies conducted to understand non-participation in mammographic screening have to a large extent found similar reasons for the decision to refrain from the procedure [14,[17][18][19][20][21][22]42], and this present study is no exception.…”

“…The use of mammographic screening or the rate of participation in it can be understood from different perspectives, such as socioeconomic and lifestyle-related determinants of health [13]. The reasons for non-participation may be distance [14][15][16][17], beliefs, fear of cancer [18], negative experiences regarding healthcare or encounters with the staff, pain during the procedure [19][20][21][22], practical issues regarding accepting the invitation to undergo breast screening [18], and inconsideration for women's life situation related to the rigidity of the healthcare system [21]. In Sweden, approximately 20% of 40-74-year-old women declined the offer to be screened, and the non-participation rate in the Swedish counties varied between 12 and 28% in 2015.…”

Barriers to, and facilitators of, access to cancer services and experiences of cancer care for adults with a physical disability: A mixed methods systematic review

“…The reasons given by people with disabilities for not engaging in preventive health care are the same as those commonly cited by the general population. [39][40][41][42][43][44] A further reason that this current review identified, which was unique to women with disabilities, was their perspective that having to address their pre-existing conditions was enough to deal with. Other studies of women with chronic conditions have found that as comorbidities increase, the likelihood of partaking in cancer screening decreased.…”

“…There is a wealth of literature that explores these issues for the general population. [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46] Barriers are the factors that reduce the likelihood that a person will access cancer services and facilitators are the factors that enhance the likelihood that a person will access such services. Although several previous reviews have investigated barriers to screening or preventive care for people with disabilities, 13,[47][48][49][50][51] no attempt was made to determine the quality of the included studies or the confidence level of the evidence in these reviews.…”