Attitudes and barriers to mammography screening in Singaporean women through the eyes of their adult children: A focus group study

Abstract

Early detection of breast cancers is known to save lives, yet less than 40% of Singaporean women participate in routine mammography screening. While previous research to understand screening behaviours focused on the perspective of individual women, this qualitative study considers their broader social support structure, with a focus on adult children of women eligible for screening, who can be engaged to improve screening uptake. Six online focus groups were conducted to explore adult children's experience of their mothers' barriers and motivators to breast screening habits. Participants were 33 adult children (age ≥21 years) of women with no history of breast cancer. Discussions were analysed thematically. Five main themes were identified: 1) “Barriers to screening”, highlighted the ‘fear of diagnosis’ among the main reasons why women do not go for screening. 2) “Mother's motivations to screen”, described factors such as ‘having a family history of breast cancer’ as a primary motivator for mothers to attend screening. 3) “Role of children in influencing parents” identified ‘encouragement’ as an area where the participants played a part in their parents' health. 4) “Factors affecting child's future screening” showed that many foreseeable motivators and barriers to their own screening mirrored those of their mothers. 5) “Suggestions to encourage screening” included subsidies and encouragement from partners. Adult children provide a unique perspective into the poor uptake rates of regular breast screening in Singapore and should be engaged as part of a multi-stakeholder approach to breast screening promotion.