Barriers and Facilitators to the Implementation of a Personalized Breast Cancer Screening Program: Views of Spanish Health Professionals

Celmira Laza-Vásquez, María José Hernández-Leal, Misericordia Carles, Maria José Pérez-Lacasta, Inés Cruz-Esteve, Montserrat Rué and on behalf of the DECIDO Group
Additional contact information
Celmira Laza-Vásquez: Health Care Research Group (GRECS), Department of Nursing and Physiotherapy, University of Lleida-IRBLleida, 25198 Lleida, Spain
María José Hernández-Leal: Research Centre on Economics and Sustainability (ECO-SOS), Department of Economics, Rovira i Virgili University (URV), 43003 Tarragona, Spain
Maria José Pérez-Lacasta: Research Centre on Economics and Sustainability (ECO-SOS), Department of Economics, Rovira i Virgili University (URV), 43003 Tarragona, Spain
Inés Cruz-Esteve: Primer de Maig Basic Health Area, Catalan Health Institute (ICS), 25003 Lleida, Spain
Montserrat Rué: Research Group in Statistical and Economic Analysis in Health (GRAEES), 43204 Reus, Spain
on behalf of the DECIDO Group: Collaborators of the DECIDO group are indicated in the Acknowledgment section.

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: This study explored the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of a risk-based breast cancer screening program from the point of view of Spanish health professionals. A cross-sectional study with 220 Spanish health professionals was designed. Data were collected in 2020 via a web-based survey and included the advantages and disadvantages of risk-based screening and barriers and facilitators for the implementation of the program. Descriptive statistics and Likert scale responses analyzed as category-ordered data were obtained. The risk-based screening was considered important or very important to reduce breast cancer mortality and promote a more proactive role for women in breast cancer prevention, to increase coverage for women under 50 years, to promote a breast cancer prevention strategy for women at high risk, and to increase efficiency and effectiveness. Switching to a risk-based program from an age-based program was rated as important or very important by 85% of participants. As barriers for implementation, risk communication, the workload of health professionals, and limited human and financial resources were mentioned. Despite the barriers, there is good acceptance, and it seems feasible, from the perspective of health professionals, to implement a risk-based breast cancer screening program in Spain. However, this poses a number of organizational and resource challenges.

Keywords: breast cancer; personalized screening; barriers; facilitators; health professionals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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