The role of the physician in mammography referral for older Caribbean women in Toronto

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2001

Publication Title

Medscape General Medicine

Volume

3

Issue

4

Abstract

Background: Despite the fact that the proportion of immigrant and minority women who consult a general practitioner about their health is similar to that of their Canadian-born counterparts, studies suggest that they are less likely to be screened for breast cancer. This study examines physician characteristics associated with mammography referral and perceived barriers to mammography among family physicians serving the Caribbean community of Toronto.

Methods: The study consisted of a mail-back family physician survey.

Results: Among the 64 physicians who responded to the survey, over half reported that they were "very likely" to refer women for mammography during a regular preventive check-up. Among physician variables, only the amount of time spent on patient education was significantly associated with the likelihood of referral. Regarding perceived barriers, for male physicians, patient refusal and intervention causing patient discomfort were significantly associated with referral. For female physicians, only forgetting to provide service was identified as a significant barrier to referral.

Keywords

Breast--Cancer—Prevention; Medical screening; Patient education; Physician and patient; Women immigrants

Disciplines

Counseling Psychology | Health Psychology | Medicine and Health | Psychiatry and Psychology | Psychology

Language

English

Comments

Has five sections

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or use interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the article. Publisher copyright policy allows author to archive post-print (author’s final manuscript). When post-print is available or publisher policy changes, the article will be deposited


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