Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality among women in Australia. Australia has an organised breast cancer screening program in order to detect early-stage cancer and thus reduce morbidity and mortality. Although screening uptake has increased over time in Australia, rates are suboptimal and vary regionally. Minimal research has addressed breast cancer screening uptake at the small area-level. Knowledge of spatial variations in breast screening uptake, and social and built environmental features related to variations in response rates is important to optimise breast screening program delivery. Key understudied outcomes include individual participation in screening within six months of receipt of an invitation and use of closest screening venues (fixed and mobile) to a respondent’s residence. Focusing specifically on the Greater Sydney region of Australia, this research aims to identify the residential area sociodemographic and screening venue location built-environmental features associated with: (i) small area-level variation in screening invitation response rates; (ii) screening within 6-months from receipt of an invitation to screen; and (iii) use of closest screening venue to the residence. Results show that residential area sociodemographic and venue location built-environmental features were associated with screening behaviours. These results can help guide interventions that account for the interplay between individual and environmental features and enhance the utilisation of breast screening services, thus reducing breast cancer-related morbidity and mortality.
Date of Award | 2022 |
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Original language | English |
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Supervisor | Suzanne CARROLL (Supervisor), Mark Daniel (Supervisor) & Neil Coffee (Supervisor) |
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Geographic access, sociodemographic and built environmental features predictive of breast screening service utilisation in Greater Sydney, Australia
Khan, J. (Author). 2022
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis