Health Damaged Context: Barriers to Breast Cancer Screening from Viewpoint of Iranian Health Volunteers

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is common among cancer diseases and the second leading cause of death among women<br />worldwide. The breast cancer-caused death is directly associated with diagnosis time of the disease. Screening is one of<br />the major methods for health promotion in human societies. However, many women still refuse to do the periodic<br />screening. The present study is aimed to analyze the experiences of health volunteers in order to understand the barriers to<br />breast cancer screening among women at southeast of Iran. Methods: Data collection was performed through focus<br />groups. Using the purposive sampling method, 24 participants were selected and then were allocated to 6-member<br />groups. The data were analysed using Lundman and Graneheim qualitative content analysis. Results: The main theme of<br />“Health Damage Context" was extracted with four main categories, including: family barriers, cultural and social barriers,<br />personal barriers and organizational barriers. Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, there are numerous<br />barriers to regular breast cancer screening, and for the same reasons, the willingness to screening is sometimes not<br />satisfactory. Therefore, in case of the women's referral to health centers, nurses and other health-care professionals<br />should inform them about the role of different screening methods in early diagnosis and rapid treatment of breast cancer.