Mammography in Rural Areas of Iran: A Qualitative Study for Designing a Social Marketing Intervention

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common cancer leading to death in women. So, early detection and treatment of it is very important and increase the patient survival. Mammography is one of the most effective methods for diagnosis of the breast cancer. We aimed to study for designing a social marketing intervention in rural areas of Bojnourd, Iran to propagate using mammography among women. Method: In this qualitative study, ۴۶ women in four focus group discussions (FGD) discussed their views and ideas about mammography. All discussions were voice-recorded and written by two note takers. Using ATLAS.ti۵.۲ software, the collected data were analyzed. Results: Five main themes including mammography in general, barriers to doing mammography, appropriate communication methods and channels and opinion leaders for them to do this exam, were extracted. Conclusion: Designing a social marketing-based intervention can be useful for propagation of using mammography among women.

Keywords:

breast cancer , mammography , Qualitative study , Social Marketing , Rural women