The gradient in mammography screening behavior: a lifestyle marker.
The study reports a gradient in adhering to a recommended health behavior-mammography screening. Data were collected on 951 Israeli women, aged 50-74, who were mailed an invitation to a prescheduled mammography screening appointment and were later phone interviewed about their background, their other health behaviors and their health perceptions related to cancer, mammography and self-rated health. The main finding that emerged was a gradient consisting of three groups defined by their adherence to mammography screening: women who declined the invitation to undergo screening (nonattenders, 32%), women who attended a screening upon encouragement (attenders, 45%) and women who initiated the test on their own (self-screenees, 23%). This gradient was shown to be related to structural/background variables (e.g. SES, age, education, ethnicity), other health behaviors and perceptual variables related to health in general and to cancer. For example, self-screenees were of a higher SES, engaged in more health behaviors and were closer to other women who performed a mammography. An analysis carried out to discern where the difference between the three groups lied showed that it was more apparent between the self-screenees and attenders, and that the attenders and nonattenders were more similar to each other. These findings are discussed in terms of health behavior as a discrete phenomenon vs. reflecting a lifestyle. Suggestions for intervention possibilities are presented in light of the finer ranking proposed above (as opposed to the dichotomy of engaging/not engaging in a health behavior).
Hagoel
L
L
Department of Community Medicine and Epidemiology, The B. Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Carmel Medical Center, Haifa, Israel.
Ore
L
L
Neter
E
E
Shifroni
G
G
Rennert
G
G
D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008019:Life Style; D008327:Mammography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors