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Abstract

Background: Breast cancer screening and early detection lead to better prognosis, survival rates and quality of life. The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) organizes yearly national-subsidized mammography campaigns in October, since 2002. This paper describes the characteristics of women attending the 2009 MoPH mammography campaign and explores factors influencing their first-time participation.

Materials and Methods: Data from 83 mammography centers on 10,953 women (gathered during October- December 2009) were analyzed. The data were collected by the radiology technicians at the centers, using a closedended questionnaire. Data management and analysis was done using SPSS. Analysis included descriptive, bi-variate statistics and backward logistic regression.

Results: The mean age of women attending the campaign was 49 (SD 9.67) years. 84.1% of the women were married, 13.6% had some form of university education, and 40.7% were current smokers. 82.9% indicated to have ever breast fed, and 36.9% were current or ever users of OCP. As for family history, 8.9% indicated to have an aunt on the mother’s side with breast cancer, 8.8% have a sister, 7.5% an aunt on the father’s side, and 7.3% have a mother. 68.2% of the women participated in the campaign for the first time. 97.8% indicated they would repeat the exam next year. 88.8% considered the price acceptable. 51.6% had normal diagnosis. Television messages and a friend were the two most common routes via which the woman heard of the campaign. Women who participated in the campaign before compared to those participating for the first time: were more likely to be independently-significantly: older, of higher educational levels, non-smokers, and with a family history of breast cancer.

Conclusion: Such an assessment is important in order to enhance outreach as well as identify factors that could contribute to better service delivery, capacity and quality.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Mammography campaign; Lebanon