Decisions and prompts to screen for cervical, bowel, and breast cancer

Decisions and prompts to screen for cervical, bowel, and breast cancer

Objectives
To investigate what makes Australians decide to screen and follow through for breast, cervical, and bowel cancer population screening programs.

Methods
A convenience sample (N = 962) answered open-text questions about their decision to screen and what prompted them to act in an online survey. Open text responses were coded based on shared meaning using content analysis. Frequencies of each code were calculated.

Results
For breast and cervical screening, decisions were commonly based on screening being routine (32.58%breast and 35.19%cervical) or receiving a reminder (20.53% breast 13.07% cervical), and similarly, common prompts were receiving a reminder (40.68% breast and 29.13% cervical), screening being routine (22.05% breast and 18.65% cervical). Participants reported deciding to screen for bowel cancer due to arrival of home screening test kit (40.50%) or the experience of loved one’s cancer (13.57%) and were prompted by arrival of home test kit (23.58%), and convenience (15.72%).

Conclusions
Findings can inform the development of interventions targeting non-participants of cancer screening programs.

Practice Implications
Messages to encourage breast and cervical cancer screening should frame screening as part of regular healthcare routine. Messages to encourage bowel cancer screening should encourage immediate use of the screening kit upon arrival.