Department of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2024 Sep 27;24(1):1113. doi: 10.1186/s12913-024-11576-x.
In resource-constrained settings, availability and access to mammography is a challenge. As such, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends clinical breast examination (CBE) for women in such settings. Yet, CBE uptake remains low. We, therefore, aimed to contribute to the discourse on factors that influence women's screening practice by investigating the association between the frequency of internet use and women's uptake of CBE in Ghana.
This study was based on data from 15,013 women who participated in the 2022 Ghana demographic and health survey. We performed descriptive analysis, computed Pearson's chi-square test, and fitted multivariable logistic regression models. The findings from the regression model were presented in adjusted odds ratio (AOR) at a 95% confidence interval.
Only 18.39% of women 15-49 years had their breasts examined by a healthcare provider. About 38.22% of the total sample often used the internet. Compared to women who did not use the internet at all, those who often used it had twice the odds of getting screened (COR = 2.86; 95%CI: 2.62-3.13). The odds of CBE uptake remained significantly higher among those who often used the internet (AOR = 1.26; 95%CI: 1.12-1.43) even after adjusting for the covariates.
We conclude that CBE uptake is significantly high among women who frequently use the internet. This association persists even when considering other influential factors such as age, education level, marital status, and socioeconomic status. As such, it is imperative for the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service to recognize the potential of digital health interventions, including online health education campaigns and telehealth services, in reaching and engaging women to get their breast examined by a healthcare provider.
在资源有限的情况下，获得和使用乳房 X 光检查存在挑战。因此，世界卫生组织（WHO）建议在这些环境下，对女性进行临床乳房检查（CBE）。然而，CBE 的接受率仍然很低。因此，我们旨在通过调查加纳女性使用互联网的频率与接受 CBE 筛查的关系，为影响女性筛查实践的因素的讨论做出贡献。
本研究基于 2022 年加纳人口与健康调查中 15013 名女性的数据。我们进行了描述性分析、计算了 Pearson 卡方检验，并拟合了多变量逻辑回归模型。回归模型的结果以 95%置信区间的调整优势比（AOR）呈现。
15-49 岁的女性中只有 18.39%接受过医疗保健提供者的乳房检查。约 38.22%的总样本经常使用互联网。与根本不使用互联网的女性相比，经常使用互联网的女性接受筛查的几率是其两倍（COR=2.86；95%CI：2.62-3.13）。即使在调整了协变量后，经常使用互联网的女性接受 CBE 的几率仍然显著较高（AOR=1.26；95%CI：1.12-1.43）。
我们得出结论，经常使用互联网的女性中 CBE 的接受率显著较高。即使考虑了年龄、教育水平、婚姻状况和社会经济地位等其他影响因素，这种关联仍然存在。因此，卫生部与加纳卫生局合作，认识到数字健康干预措施（包括在线健康教育运动和远程医疗服务）的潜力至关重要，这些措施可以帮助女性获得医疗服务，接受乳房检查。
