title: Informed Choice in the German Mammography Screening Program by Education and Migrant Status: Survey among First-Time Invitees.
abstract: Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women and mammography screening programs are seen as a key strategy to reduce breast cancer mortality. In Germany, women are invited to the population-based mammography screening program between ages 50 to 69. It is still discussed whether the benefits of mammography screening outweigh its harms. Therefore, the concept of informed choice comprising knowledge, attitude and intention has gained importance. The objective of this observational study was to assess the proportion of informed choices among women invited to the German mammography screening program for the first time. A representative sample of 17,349 women aged 50 years from a sub-region of North Rhine Westphalia was invited to participate in a postal survey. Turkish immigrant women were oversampled. The effects of education level and migration status on informed choice and its components were assessed. 5,847 (33.7%) women responded to the postal questionnaire of which 4,113 were used for analyses. 31.5% of the women had sufficient knowledge. The proportion of sufficient knowledge was lower among immigrants and among women with low education levels. The proportion of women making informed choices was low (27.1%), with similar associations with education level and migration status. Women of low (OR 2.75; 95% CI 2.18-3.46) and medium education level (OR 1.49; 95% CI 1.27-1.75) were more likely to make an uninformed choice than women of high education level. Turkish immigrant women had the greatest odds for making an uninformed choice (OR 5.30, 95% CI 1.92-14.66) compared to non-immigrant women. Other immigrant women only had slightly greater odds for making an uninformed choice than non-immigrant women. As immigrant populations and women with low education level have been shown to have poor knowledge, they need special attention in measures to increase knowledge and thus informed choices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology & International Public Health, School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany; Department of Health Services Research and Nursing Science, School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany.
authors.forename: Eva-Maria
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Berens
authors.affiliation: Department of Prevention and Health Promotion, School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany.
authors.forename: Maren
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reder
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology & International Public Health, School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Razum
authors.affiliation: Department of Prevention and Health Promotion, School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany.
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kolip
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology & International Public Health, School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany; Department of Public Health, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Brandenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spallek
mesh_terms: D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010358:Patient Participation