Determinants of Compliance in a Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial on Screening of Breast and Cervix Cancer in Mumbai, India 1. Compliance to Screening

This study aims to investigate the efficacy of screening by low-cost technology in down-staging and reducing mortality due to breast and cervix cancer. The present trial is a community-based, cluster randomised controlled cohort study on screening for breast and cervix cancers (clinical breast examination and visual inspection of the cervix after application of 4% acetic acid). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses are conducted to identify the predictors of participation in screening. The average compliance is 71.43 and 64.93% for breast and cervix cancer screening, respectively, with the highest compliance in round 1. At the end of 3 screening rounds, 94 and 84% of the eligible women were screened at least once for breast and cervix cancer, respectively. Younger women, women from other than Hindu and Muslim communities, school level-educated women, women belonging to lower-income families, Marathi-speaking women, married women and women who had previously consulted for any breast or gynaecological complaints had higher compliance to participation in screening. Good compliance rates to screening have been demonstrated in the trial, reflecting acceptance of the study by the society, which has implications while translating the trial into a programme.