Breast Cancer Screening Practices and Associated Factors among Chinese-Australian Women Living in Sydney

Abstract

In Australia, early detection plays a leading role in reducing mortality from breast cancer. Little is known about how Chinese-Australian women engage in breast cancer screenings. This study aimed to investigate breast cancer screening practices and the associated factors amongst Chinese-Australian women. A cross-sectional quantitative method including convenient and snowball sampling was used to recruit 115 Chinese-Australian women living in Sydney (aged 35 years and older). The data was collected by self-administered questionnaires between July and September 2016. The results showed that the majority of participants performed breast self-examinations (78.1%), clinical breast examinations (69.8%) and mammograms (73.3%). Educational level was positively associated with having a breast self-examination. Age, religion, employment status and length of residence were significantly associated with performing a clinical breast examination. Income was related to having a mammogram. Significant associations between knowledge of breast cancer, cancer-related beliefs, and screening participation were also found. The length of residence was the strongest predictor of having a clinical breast examination and mammogram. The most common barrier to mammography screening was that doctors did not recommend it to participants. These findings can be used to develop tailored programs to promote the early detection of breast cancer among Chinese–Australian women.