Cancer anxiety and attitudes toward mammography among screening attenders, nonattenders, and women never invited.
A mailed questionnaire survey was conducted among the following groups: 179 women who screened false positive at a free mammography screening; a random sample of 250 women who screened negative; 670 nonattenders of the screening; and a random population sample of 250 women who lived in another city and were not invited, but were otherwise comparable. The most frequently reported reason for nonattendance was not having the opportunity. Furthermore, only 18% of the nonattenders reported anxiety about breast cancer compared with 33% of the population sample (P less than .05). Ninety-nine percent of the women who attended indicated a positive attitude toward mammography that had not been adversely affected by screening experiences.
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Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsö, Norway.
Slenker
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D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000523:psychology*; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires