PREDICTORS OF ATTENDANCE AT A RELOCATABLE MAMMOGRAPHY SERVICE FOR RURAL WOMEN

This study aimed to identify factors that predicted attendance at a re locatable screening mammography service in a rural centre in Victoria. A cohort design was used whereby 180 women from the target population were interviewed by telephone two weeks before the service moved to t he area for a 10-week period of operation. Attendance data were ascert ained from service records. Fifty per cent of the sample attended the service. Significant predictors of attendance were: mammographic histo ry, with women who reported previous screening mammography being less likely to attend than women who had not had a previous mammogram (odds ratio (OR) 0.38, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.17 to 0.83); percepti on of personal risk for breast cancer, with women who perceived at lea st some risk being more likely to attend than women who perceived no r isk (OR 2.73, CI 1.07 to 6.99); stated intention of attending (OR 2.01 , CI 1.49 to 2.71); knowing the correct location of the service (OR 3. 08, CI 1.37 to 6.89); and education, with higher education being assoc iated with a lower likelihood of attending (OR 0.65, CI 0.44 to 0.96). Our study raised some issues, including the high prevalence of rural women who reported a previous screening mammogram, although BreastScre en services had not previously been available in their area; factors u nderlying perceptions of personal risk for breast cancer; and the gene ralisability of our finding of an inverse relationship between higher education and attendance for screening.