Department of Communication Science, Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
East Mediterr Health J. 2019 Feb 18;24(12):1165-1171. doi: 10.26719/emhj.18.018.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women aged 20-59 years worldwide, with 58% of deaths occurring in less-developed countries. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, breast cancer constitutes 21% of all cancers, with an incidence rate of 22 per 100 000 women.
Since research into breast cancer screening among Iranian women is scarce and results are contradictory, we aimed to explore women's' perceptions regarding breast cancer screening behaviour and provide insights into how breast cancer is perceived and approached. This could aid policy-makers in drafting effective interventions to stimulate women to perform regular screening.
We used the Health Belief Model as a theoretical framework. In-depth interviews with 22 women in Tehran were performed, based on a topic-list exploring the 6 constructs of the Health Belief Model: perceived barriers, perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, self-efficacy and cues to action. Data-analysis was based on the Constructive Grounded Theory Method.
The main barriers were fear, low priority and cultural values. Perceived severity was low for the majority of women, while perceived susceptibility was high for about half of them. Perceived benefit of screening was high for all women. Women's' self-efficacy was low when it came to breast self-examination. Talking about breast cancer screening and having somebody in their environment adopting screening behaviour were important cues for taking up breast cancer screening.
Interventions should focus on diminishing barriers and increasing women's' self-efficacy and interpersonal communication about breast cancer screening.
乳腺癌是全球 20-59 岁女性死亡的主要原因，其中 58%的死亡发生在欠发达国家。在伊朗伊斯兰共和国，乳腺癌占所有癌症的 21%，发病率为每 10 万名妇女 22 例。
由于针对伊朗女性的乳腺癌筛查研究很少，且结果相互矛盾，我们旨在探讨女性对乳腺癌筛查行为的看法，并深入了解人们对乳腺癌的看法和处理方式。这可以帮助决策者制定有效的干预措施，鼓励女性定期进行筛查。
我们使用健康信念模型作为理论框架。在德黑兰对 22 名女性进行了深入访谈，访谈内容基于一个主题列表，探讨了健康信念模型的 6 个构念：感知障碍、感知严重性、感知易感性、感知益处、自我效能感和行动线索。数据分析基于建构主义扎根理论方法。
主要障碍是恐惧、优先级低和文化价值观。大多数女性认为筛查的严重程度较低，而约一半女性认为筛查的易感性较高。所有女性都认为筛查的益处很高。女性进行乳房自我检查的自我效能感较低。谈论乳腺癌筛查以及环境中有人采取筛查行为是接受乳腺癌筛查的重要线索。
干预措施应重点减少障碍，提高女性的自我效能感，并加强关于乳腺癌筛查的人际沟通。
