Kartal Mehtap, Ozcakar Nilgun, Hatipoglu Sehnaz, Tan Makbule Neslisah, Guldal Azize Dilek
Department of Family Medicine, Medical Faculty of Dokuz Eylul University, 35340, Inciralti, Izmir, Turkey.
Family Medicine Specialist, Ministry of Health, 24th Family Health Center, Izmir, Turkey.
BMC Womens Health. 2014 Dec 5;14:152. doi: 10.1186/s12905-014-0152-3.
As the risks and benefits of early detection and primary prevention strategies for breast cancer are beginning to be quantified, the risk perception of women has become increasingly important as may affect their screening behaviors. This study evaluated the women's breast cancer risk perception and their accuracy, and determined the factors that can affect their risk perception accuracy.
Data was collected in a cross-sectional survey design. Questionnaire, including breast cancer risk factors, risk perceptions and screening behaviors, answered by 624 women visiting primary health care center (PHCC). "Perceived risk" investigated with numeric and verbal measures. Accuracy of risk perception was determined by women's Gail 5-year risk scores.
The mean age of the participants was 59.62 ± 1.97 years. Of the women 6.7% had a first-degree relative with breast cancer, 68.9% performed breast self-examination and 62.3% had a mammography, and 82.9% expressed their breast cancer worry as "low". The numeric measure correlated better with worry and Gail scores. Of the women 65.5% perceived their breast cancer risk accurately. Among the women in "high risk" group 65.7% underestimated, while in "average risk" group 25.4% overestimated their risk.
Turkish women visiting PHCC are overtly and overly optimistic. This was especially obvious with the result that nearly one third had had no mammography. There is a need for further studies to understand why and how this optimism is maintained so that better screening strategies can be applied at PHCC. All health workers working at PHCC have to be aware of this optimism to prevent missed opportunities for cancer screening.
随着乳腺癌早期检测和一级预防策略的风险与益处开始得到量化，女性的风险认知变得愈发重要，因为这可能会影响她们的筛查行为。本研究评估了女性对乳腺癌的风险认知及其准确性，并确定了可能影响其风险认知准确性的因素。
采用横断面调查设计收集数据。对624名前往初级卫生保健中心（PHCC）就诊的女性进行问卷调查，内容包括乳腺癌风险因素、风险认知和筛查行为。通过数字和文字测量来调查“感知风险”。风险认知的准确性由女性的盖尔5年风险评分确定。
参与者的平均年龄为59.62±1.97岁。6.7%的女性有患乳腺癌的一级亲属，68.9%的女性进行乳房自我检查，62.3%的女性进行乳房X光检查，82.9%的女性表示她们对乳腺癌的担忧为“低”。数字测量与担忧和盖尔评分的相关性更好。65.5%的女性准确感知到了她们患乳腺癌的风险。在“高风险”组中，65.7%的女性低估了风险，而在“平均风险”组中，25.4%的女性高估了风险。
前往PHCC就诊的土耳其女性明显过于乐观。这一点在近三分之一的女性未进行乳房X光检查的结果中尤为明显。有必要进行进一步研究，以了解这种乐观情绪为何以及如何持续存在，以便在PHCC应用更好的筛查策略。所有在PHCC工作的医护人员都必须意识到这种乐观情绪，以防止错失癌症筛查的机会。
