title: Barriers to breast cancer screening among a sample of Egyptian females.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Breast cancer (BC) is usually diagnosed in late stages in countries with limited resources. Early detection of BC is likely to improve the outcome of the disease for women in these areas.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to understand the possible personal, economic, and systems barriers to BC screening in a sample of Egyptian women.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted in family health centers representing the seven districts of Alexandria governorate, Egypt. A total of 612 women were randomly selected from the chosen centers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  IN THIS SAMPLE OF EGYPTIAN WOMEN, THE MOST FREQUENTLY IDENTIFIED POTENTIAL BARRIERS TO BC SCREENING WERE THE FOLLOWING: 81.8% would not seek care until they were ill, 77% were unwilling to have a mammogram until it was recommended by the doctor, 71.4% blamed the, lack of privacy, 69.2% thought that medical checkups were not worthwhile, and 64.6% blamed the cost of services. The study further revealed that women of lower education, women in the lower income category, women who did not do paid work, those who had poor knowledge of the risks of BC, and women with no family history of BC were more likely to perceive different screening barriers compared with their counterparts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Many potential personal, economic, and health system barriers were identified. Addressing these barriers by increasing the awareness of BC and dealing with the misconceptions that the women have can help the policy makers to design more culturally relevant strategies to motivate women to utilize screening services.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Health, High Institute of Public Health, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt ; Department of Research, Alexandria Regional Center for Women's Health and Development, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: Heba M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Mamdouh
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Institute, High Institute of Public Health, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: Hazzem
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: El-Mansy
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Health, High Institute of Public Health, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt ; Department of Research, Alexandria Regional Center for Women's Health and Development, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: Ibrahim F
authors.initials: IF
authors.lastname: Kharboush
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Health, High Institute of Public Health, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt ; Department of Nutrition, High Institute of Public Health, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: Hanaa M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.affiliation: Department of Research, Alexandria Regional Center for Women's Health and Development, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: May M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Tawfik
authors.affiliation: Department of Research, Alexandria Regional Center for Women's Health and Development, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: Mohamed Abdel
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: El-Baky
authors.affiliation: Department of Research, Alexandria Regional Center for Women's Health and Development, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: Omnia G
authors.initials: OG
authors.lastname: El Sharkawy
keywords: Breast cancer; Egypt; barriers; screening