Exploring the reasons for non-participation of women in a breast cancer screening campaign

Study objectives: to determine the reasons for non-participation in a programme of screening for breast cancer. Design: semi-structured telephone interview. Setting: a pilot programme of screening by mammography, targeted at all women aged between 50 and 70 years in two regions of Switzerland. Population: a sample of 33 non-participants were interviewed. Main results: few non-participants took advantage of the screening tests for female cancers. However, only one-quarter were determined never to have a mammography, The others did not participate because of organizational problems (one-quarter) or because they did not understand what a mammography involved (half), Conclusions: there is considerable scope for increasing the rate of participation. Efforts must be made to improve the information directed at the socially less favoured (the objectives of the screening and the organizational arrangements). Family doctors are frequently consulted and are best placed to communicate this information. They should be encouraged to play a much more active part in this respect.