INTEGRATING PROS AND CONS FOR MAMMOGRAPHY AND PAP TESTING - EXTENDINGTHE CONSTRUCT OF DECISIONAL BALANCE TO 2 BEHAVIORS

Background. The ability to study health-related behaviors in combinati on rather than singly will lead to a more comprehensive approach to he alth promotion. This investigation focused on mammography and Pap test ing. One index was created to reflect the recency of receiving both ex aminations. A second index integrated opinions about the two procedure s into a single measure, guided by the pros, cons, and decisional bala nce constructs of the Transtheoretical Model of behavior change. Metho d. Data were drawn from the baseline and 1-year follow-up surveys of a n HMO sample of women ages 40-74 (N = 1,605). Data collection occurred by telephone. A series of analyses examined whether recency of screen ing was associated with opinions about screening. Results. The first a nalysis showed that recency of Pap testing and whether or not a Pap te st was obtained between the two surveys were associated with opinions about Pap testing. The next analysis examined the association between the indicator for regularity of both Pap testing and mammography, with the measure of opinions toward the two procedures. The variable measu ring receipt of Pap test and mammography was associated with the combi ned measure of opinions. Conclusions. The ability to employ combined i ndicators for recency of testing and test-related opinions is promisin g for being able to take a more comprehensive approach to women's heal th. The paper discusses methodological considerations that arise when attempting to integrate two or more behaviors. (C) 1997 Academic Press .