title: Approaches to breast cancer screening among primary care physicians in rural areas of crete, Greece.
abstract: The aim of this study was to assess levels of knowledge regarding breast cancer screening among primary care physicians in rural areas of Crete. A cross-sectional survey of 106 general practitioners and internists and 83 trainee general practitioners (GPs) employed as of October 2004 and practicing at 14 primary health centers in Crete was performed. It was a self-administered survey with 27 items exploring knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors concerning delivery of general preventive and cancer screening services. The main outcome measures were responses to four items on approaches to breast cancer screening practices. Overall response rate was 55% (primary care physicians (PCPs) = 53%; trainee GPs = 60%). Respondents demonstrated a limited awareness of international recommendations for breast cancer screening and exhibited marked variation in their responses to survey items. Agreement with current international guidelines ranged from 31% to 58% for the individual survey items. This survey revealed limited knowledge among PCPs to well-publicized breast cancer screening guidelines and variations in approaches to breast cancer early detection.
authors.affiliation: Head of Department of Social Work, University Hospital of Heraklion, Heraklion, Crete, Greece. martrig1@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trigoni
authors.forename: Martin C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Mahoney
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moschandreas
authors.forename: Dimitris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tsiftsis
authors.forename: Eygenios
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Koumantakis
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lionis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D058007:Physicians, Primary Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D012424:Rural Population; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires