Obstacles and awareness of mammography screening among Saudi women attending King Abdulaziz Specialist Hospital in Taif city, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Low uptake rates were reported for mammographic screening (MS) among Arab women. The present study aimed to assess obstacles and awareness of MS among Saudi women attending King Abdulaziz Specialist Hospital in Taif city, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out during April-August 2021 involving all women aged 40-70 years who attended the King Abdulaziz Specialist Hospital in Taif city, Saudi Arabia. The study sample was 210 women. Structured interviewing questionnaires were used for data collection. Results: The most common personal obstacles toward MS were fear of the discovery of Breast cancer (BC) (71.4%), fear of radiation (65.2%), fear of cancer treatment (65.2%), and the embarrassment of breast examination (63.8%). The most common health system barriers were fear of errors in diagnosis (67.5%), long time to get an appointment (57.1%), and will not do MS except if recommended by the doctor (55.2%). The most common known risk factors of BC were family history (FH), unhealthy food, smoking, and lack of exercise. 78.1% of the participants knew that MS is the ideal method for BC screening, and 66.2% reported that MS was recommended above 40 years. Only 13.8% of the participants had a good knowledge level. Married females, those who had university/postgraduate education, were employed, had a higher monthly income [(7,000 Saudi riyals (SR)], and had FH of BC had significantly higher mean knowledge scores. Participants of rural residence, divorced/widowed, with low education, and low monthly income had higher mean barrier scores to MS. Conclusion: Addressing these barriers and raising awareness about MS may be highly beneficial in increasing its uptake among Saudi women.