Breast cancer screening: stages of adoption among Cambodian American women

Background: Little information is available on the breast cancer screening behavior of Cambodian American women. Methods: We identified households from multiple sources using Cambodian surnames and conducted a cross-sectional survey, administered by bilingual and bicultural interviewers. Breast cancer screening stages of adoption were examined based on concepts from the transtheoretical model of behavioral change. Results: Our response rate was 73% (398 women in clinical breast exam (CBE) analysis, and 248 in mammography analysis) with approximately 25% each in the maintenance stage. We found significant associations between screening stage with physician characteristics. Asian American female physician increased the likelihood of being in the maintenance stage (CBE, OR = 10.1, 95% CI 2.8-37. 1; mammogram, OR = 74.7, 95% CI 8.3-674.6), compared to Asian American male physician with precontemplation/comemplation stage as our referent outcome. Conclusion: Results from this study support the need to promote regular breast cancer screening among Cambodian American women. (C) 2002 International Society for Preventive Oncology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.