A large body of literature exists on routine breast cancer screening for women. Likewise, much information exists regarding the course of breast cancer after diagnosis. Much less is known about the interval between the time an abnormality is discovered and the time a definitive diagnosis is made. This report adds to that knowledge area in developing a scale to measure patients' satisfaction with breast cancer diagnostic services. 436 patients from clinics offering no-cost breast cancer screening were interviewed concerning their experiences in going through the diagnostic process. Clinics were randomly chosen from those offering either of two breast cancer screening programs administered by the California Department of Health Services. 58 clinics with eligible patients participated. Patients were women aged 40 or older, within 200% of Federal poverty level, un- or under-insured and who had received abnormal mammographic results. Fewer than 10% of these women were ultimately diagnosed with cancer. More than half were born outside the United States more than 60% were non-White. Interviews were conducted by telephone in five languages (Spanish, English, Tagalog, Cantonese and Mandarin). Factor analysis was used to construct a scale to measure patient satisfaction with services. Though bivariate analysis showed that satisfaction was higher for women born outside of the U.S., for Latina versus African American or White women, and for less educated patients and women with lower household incomes, only education and income remained significant in multivariate analysis.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation, the participant wil be able to: 1. understand the special breast cancer diagnostic needs of underserved, low-income women over 40. 2. adapt survey questions developed for mainstream health users to the special needs of women who may have a low level of literacy and not speak English. 2. observe the construction of a scale to measure patient satisfaction in this underserved population
Keywords: Underserved Populations, Breast Cancer
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.