title: Characteristics of women using organized or opportunistic breast cancer screening in France. Analysis of the 2006 French Health, Health Care and Insurance Survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aimed at (i) estimating the 2-year self-reported breast cancer screening coverage rate; and (ii) analyzing the relationships between sociodemographic characteristics and healthcare access of women and breast cancer screening (opportunistic or organized) practices.
  
  
  METHODS
  From a 2006 French health survey, 2056 women aged 50 to 74 years were selected and divided into three groups according to their breast cancer screening practices during the previous 2 years: organized screening, opportunistic screening, or no screening. The three groups were compared according to self-reported sociodemographic status, healthcare access, screening behaviors, and perceived health, using polytomic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 2-year self-reported coverage rate was 75.8%. It was high among women aged 50 to 69 years and lower among older women. Questions relating to medical access (i.e. having consulted a GP in the last 12 months, having consulted a gynecologist in the last 12 months, and having had a Pap smear in the last 3 years) were the variables most commonly associated with a recent mammogram. Women having a regular follow-up by a gynecologist or having had cervical cancer screening within the last three years used organized breast cancer screening more often and used opportunistic breast cancer screening even more often than other women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study confirmed the key role of gynecologists and general practitioners in encouraging women to have a mammogram. Awareness among healthcare professionals and women of the benefits of organized breast cancer screening compared to opportunistic screening should be sustained and strengthened.
authors.affiliation: Département des maladies chroniques et des traumatismes, Institut de veille sanitaire (InVS), 12, rue du Val-d'Osne, 94415 Saint-Maurice cedex, France. n.duport@invs.sante.fr
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Duport
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health; D008327:Mammography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires