title: Delayed time from first medical visit to diagnosis for breast cancer patients in Taiwan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Delay in diagnosis may affect the survival of breast cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate delayed diagnosis for breast cancer patients in Taiwan.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was conducted via one-to-one interviews with structured questionnaires in hospital outpatient visit. Included were 600 breast cancer patients seeking medical care in two medical centers in central Taiwan.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Average delay in breast cancer diagnosis was 27.8 days. Service level of the patients' first visit and number of hospitals patients visited before obtaining a correct diagnosis were significantly associated with delay in diagnosis. Logistic regression analysis found that patients who had visited two, and three or more hospitals before getting a correct diagnosis had longer delays in diagnosis than patients who had visited one hospital (odds ratio = 2.23 and 9.26, 95% confidence interval 1.37-3.63 and 95% CI:3.87-22.15, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results of this study are anticipated to serve as a reference for the government and medical institutions to develop policies to reduce the number of hospitals visited before diagnosis for breast cancer patients, and ultimately to achieve the goal of early detection and treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Services Administration, College of Public Health, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; Department of Nursing, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shwn-Huey
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Shieh
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, College of Public Health, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; Division of Environmental Health and Occupational Medicine, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Vivian Chia-Rong
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, College of Public Health, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; Cancer Center, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shu-Hui
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiooncology, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; School of Medicine, College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chun-Ru
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Chien
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; Department of Family Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; Department of Healthcare Administration, College of Health Science, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Cheng-Chieh
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; Division of Environmental Health and Occupational Medicine, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan. Electronic address: tnwu@mail.cmu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Trong-Neng
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D057210:Delayed Diagnosis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016015:Logistic Models; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: breast cancer; delayed diagnosis; hospital level; number of hospitals visited