Transforming Screening Uptake in Low-resource and Underinformed Populations: A Preliminary Study of Factors Influencing Women's Decisions to Uptake Screening

•Interventions to increase screening uptake in underinformed settings are needed.•Families and health professionals may be used to increase screening uptake.•Government-funded screening programmes may increase screening uptake. The objective of this study was to assess the factors influencing women's decision to uptake screening mammography in an underinformed population. The study is a cross-sectional survey of factors influencing screening uptake. A modified breast cancer awareness measure was used to assess women's knowledge of breast cancer, mammography, and factors that influence screening uptake. A second questionnaire investigated health professionals' (HPs') attitude to screening and the criteria for screening recommendation. Descriptive statistics were used to assess women's breast cancer awareness, factors that influence screening uptake, and HPs' attitude to breast cancer education and mammography recommendation. We ranked HPs' responses pertaining to criteria for screening recommendation using a Kendall's W test. Sixty-nine percent (n = 180) of women were aware of breast cancer, and half of them had performed breast self-examination (n = 131). About 53% (n = 138) of women were not aware of mammography, and only 15.4% (n = 40) of them have had a screening mammogram. Women's awareness of breast cancer risk factors and symptoms was poor. Many women would consider having a screening mammogram if instructed to do so by their husbands (87.7%; n = 228), HPs (96.2%; n = 250), and if government-funded screening programmes are available (90%; n = 234). Less than 40% (n = 21) of HPs had referred at least one woman for screening mammography within the last 6 months. Family history, age, and reproductive factors ranked as the highest criteria for screening recommendation. Spouses and HPs may be crucial to changing the current status quo around screening utilisation and government-funded screening programmes may increase screening uptake. Évaluer les facteurs ayant une incidence sur la décision des femmes de se prêter à la mammographie de dépistage dans une population sous-informée. cette étude est un sondage transversal sur les facteurs ayant une incidence sur la participation au dépistage. Une mesure de sensibilisation au cancer du sein modifiée a été utilisée pour évaluer le degré de connaissance du cancer du sein, de la mammographie et des facteurs qui influencent le dépistage chez les femmes. Un deuxième questionnaire examinait l'attitude des profession