How women explain barriers to mammography adoption among women in Iran

Background: Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed tumorous cancer and the second leading cause for cancer-related deaths among women across the globe including Iran. Besides that, the treatment costs for breast cancer are high and impose a huge economic burden on countries because of its high rates of incidence and prevalence. There are numerous diversities and reasons to adopt mammography worldwide which indicate cultural-economical difference in the viewpoints of women about breast cancer the purpose of the current study was to qualitatively explore barriers to mammography adoption among Iranian women.Methods: This study utilized conventional content analysis which was a part of a large research project of exploratory sequential mixed methods design. Twenty-four participants were selected from women who had participated in the first phase of the study. The participants consisted of 17 women without history of mammography, six women with history of mammography or family history of breast cancer, and one mammography technician Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews Results: Five main themes were extracted, consisting of unawareness of mammography, fear control, priority of needs to mammography, inadequate competency of mammography centers, and a sense of losing family support Conclusion: Different perceived barriers within various levels (individual, intrapersonal, health systems, and community) play influential roles in women s decisions to participate in breast cancer screening program, which indicates the cultural aspect of perceived barriers in different communities and countries. The study provides basis for intervention planning in this regard especially for Iranian and Middle East countries as well

Keywords:

Qualitative Study , Breast cancer , Mammography adoption , Barrier , Iranian women