Barriers to Breast Cancer Screening Adherence Identified

MONDAY, June 26, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Women of racial and ethnic minorities have the lowest adherence to breast cancer screening programs, according to a study published online Jan. 18 in Cancers.

Laura Ponce-Chazarri, from the University of Seville in Spain, and colleagues explored barriers that affect adherence to breast cancer screening programs in vulnerable populations according to race and/or ethnicity in a systematic review of publications.

The researchers found that most of the studies presented common barriers including race/ethnicity, low socioeconomic level, low education level, no family history of cancer and being single, medical mistrust and a health information gap, lack of private insurance, and not having annual health checks (47, 35.3, 29.4, 29.4, 23.5, 17.6, and 17.6 percent, respectively). Black, Asian, Hispanic, and foreign women were the target populations with the lowest adherence.

"Dissemination of breast cancer screening programs is still lacking in most of the vulnerable populations," a coauthor said in a statement. "But, we observed important favorable changes in those cases in which the population undergoes health education sessions, they are informed about cancer screening programs, or they seek medical attention."

Abstract/Full Text