Are health-care relationships important for mammography adherence in Latinas?
BACKGROUND
Latinas are the fastest growing racial ethnic group in the United States and have an incidence of breast cancer that is rising three times faster than that of non-Latino white women, yet their mammography use is lower than that of non-Latino women.


OBJECTIVE
We explored factors that predict satisfaction with health-care relationships and examined the effect of satisfaction with health-care relationships on mammography adherence in Latinas.


METHODS
We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 166 Latinas who were >or=40 years old. Women were recruited from Latino-serving clinics and a Latino health radio program.


METHODS
Mammography adherence was based on self-reported receipt of a mammogram within the past 2 years. The main independent variable was overall satisfaction with one's health-care relationship. Other variables included: self report of patient-provider communication, level of trust in providers, primary language, country of origin, discrimination experiences, and perceptions of racism.


RESULTS
Forty-three percent of women reported very high satisfaction in their health-care relationships. Women with high trust in providers and those who did not experience discrimination were more satisfied with their health-care relationships compared to women with lower trust and who experienced discrimination (p < .01). Satisfaction with the health-care relationship was, in turn, significantly associated with mammography adherence (OR: 3.34, 95% CI: 1.47-7.58), controlling for other factors.


CONCLUSIONS
Understanding the factors that impact Latinas' mammography adherence may inform intervention strategies. Efforts to improve Latina's satisfaction with physicians by building trust may lead to increased use of necessary mammography.
Cancer Control Program, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA. vls3@georgetown.edu
Vanessa B
VB
Sheppard
Judy
J
Wang
Bin
B
Yi
Toni Michelle
TM
Harrison
Shibao
S
Feng
Elmer E
EE
Huerta
Jeanne S
JS
Mandelblatt
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000639:trends; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000639:trends; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations