Predictors of screening mammography among Asian Indian American women: a cross-sectional study in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area.
OBJECTIVE
To assess adherence to screening mammography guidelines and examine predictors of having a mammogram in the past 2 years among immigrant Asian Indian women (AIW) aged > or = 40 years.


METHODS
Face-to-face surveys of 418 AIW in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area were conducted. Subjects were recruited through Asian Indian (AI) religious and other community-based organizations.


RESULTS
Of the 418 AIW surveyed, 83% had ever had a mammogram, and 70% had obtained a mammogram within the past 2 years. AIW who had lived in the United States for > 10 years had a higher rate of obtaining a mammogram (75.4%) within the past 2 years than did those who had lived in the United States for < or = 10 years (24.6%). In multiple logistic regression analysis, length of stay in the United States, marital status, knowledge of mammogram guidelines, age, having health insurance, physician recommendations, and number of relatives who had a mammogram were positively associated with having a mammogram within the past 2 years. Physician ethnicity and not having a healthcare provider were negatively associated with having a mammogram within the past 2 years.


CONCLUSIONS
This study lays a foundation for designing guidelines for interventions to improve mammography screening behaviors among AIW women. Increasing the use of mammogram to the levels recommended by guidelines will require a two-pronged approach directed at both AIW and AI physicians.
Department of Health, Behavior & Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA. msomanc1@jhmi.edu
Meena
M
Somanchi
Hee-Soon
HS
Juon
Rajiv
R
Rimal
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001213:Asian / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015142:Baltimore; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014861:Washington