Survey of the Psycho-Cognitive Factors Affecting Breast Cancer Screening Behaviors at Different Stages of Change among Female Teachers in Isfahan, Iran

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women. However, if detected in early stages, the disease is controllable. In view of the important role of women's beliefs and the necessity of performing screening behaviors in early detection of breast cancer, this study was carried out to determine the psycho-cognitive factors affecting breast cancer screening behaviors on the basis of the stages of change model among female teachers in Isfahan, Iran. In this descriptive-analytical study, 392 teachers were selected using cluster sampling. To determine breast cancer screening behaviors, the Rakowski's stages of change questionnaire was used. The scale categorized stages of change to precontemplation, contemplation, action, maintenance, and relapse. Psycho-cognitive factors were determined by the Persian version of Champion's Health Belief Model Scale (CHBMS). The obtained data was analyzed by descriptive and analytic statistical tests at the significance level of α = 0.05. All analyses were performed in SPSS18. The mean age of teachers was 41.86 ± 6.1 years. Based on our results about brest self-evaluation (BSE), 15.8%, 32.1%, 17.6%, 27.8%, and 6.6% of the teachers were in precontemplation, contemplation, action, maintenance, and relapse stages, respectively. In addition, 22.4%, 30.4%, 22.7%, 17.6%, and 6.6% of the participants were in the stages of precontemplation, contemplation, action, maintenance, and relapse of mammography screening behavior, respectively. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant differences between stages of change and perceived benefits of BSE (P = 0.02), perceived benefits of mammography (P < 0.001), and motivation for health (P < 0.001). The results of the current study indicated that women who perceived benefits of screening behaviors (BSE, mammography) and also had higher motivation about health, were mostly in action and maintenance stages. Therefore, appropriate educational programs are recommended to focus on benefits of BSE and mammography in early detection of breast cancer. Such programs would also create positive motivation for women and increase their adherence toward the action and maintenance stages.