The name is absent

.⅛ UNIVERSinOF

Technologysydney

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DRAFT - NOT FOR CITATION OR QUOTATION

Abstract

BreastScreen Australia provides free mammography services to women in the target
age group of 50 to 69 years. The program uses a variety of measures to recruit
women to the service and, subsequently, encourage them to screen at two year
intervals. One of the stated aims of the program is to provide equitable access to all
women in the target age group. This paper analyses the extent to which systematic
variation can be observed amongst women in terms of their screening behaviour,
focusing on those who have never screened or are irregular screeners. Data on self-
reported utilisation of breast screening services was obtained from the 2002/04 NSW
Health Surveys. A multinomial logit (MNL) model was used to examine the role of
socioeconomic status, cultural background, education and region of residence on
breast screening behaviour. The results show that lower income is associated with a
woman never screening or screening irregularly. Region of residence is an important
predictor of screening behaviour, although the degree of remoteness was not
influential in determining participation. A higher number of hours worked was
associated with women being more likely to screen irregularly. These results provide
evidence of persistent and systematic variation in screening uptake and regular
participation. The results also point towards targeted recruitment and retainment
strategies that may provide the greatest potential benefits.

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