Study of the Determinants of the Use of Breast Cancer Screening in Women 35 to 65 Years in the Region of Thies (Senegal)

Introduction: In Senegal, breast cancer is the second most common cancer of women after cervical cancer. It is a cancer accessible to clinical and radiological screening. The objective of this study was to study the determinants of the use of breast cancer screening among women aged 35 to 65 in the Thies region in 2015. Material and Methods: It was a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study. It was conducted with a sample of women selected using a two-stage cluster survey. The study used a questionnaire to collect data on the individual characteristics of women, knowledge, attitudes and practice on breast cancer and quality of care in an individual interview at the homes of women after consent. The data was entered on the Epi Info 3.5.3 software and analyzed with the R 3.3.3 software. A description of qualitative variables across proportions and quantitative variables by mean and standard deviation was performed. Parametric or non-parametric tests were used to examine the association between the dependent variable (breast cancer screening) and explanatory variables (predisposing factors, resources, health needs) according to their applicability conditions and at a risk α equal 5%. Finally, all variables with p less than 0.25 were used to construct an explanatory model by simple logistic regression. Results: The study involved 960 women aged 35 to 65 years. The average age was 43.8 years with a standard deviation of 8.3 years. The rate of breast cancer screening was 25.7%. Educated women (OR adjusted = 1.89 [1.25 - 2.85]), women who resided in urban settings (adjusted OR = 1.79 [1.05 - 3.04]), those who experienced at least one risk factor for breast cancer (OR adjusted = 2.71 [1.81 - 4.06]) were more likely to use screening breast cancer. In contrast, women with low socioeconomic status (adjusted OR = 0.66 [0.45 - 0.97]) were less likely to be screened. Conclusion: Level of education, knowledge of breast cancer and having received screening advice are factors to consider in improving the rate of breast cancer screening in Thies, and the most important remains public awareness.