A Study on the Effects of a Navigator Intervention to Improve Breast Cancer Screening - a Focus on National Population Screening Program for Cancer in one District of Seoul -

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of patient navigation services to improve breast cancer screening rates. The study samples are 730 socioeconomically disadvantaged women who were identified from S public health center, and were possible to confirm if the cancer screening has been conducted after the first interview. First, the breast cancer screening rate was 69.9%, indicating that this rate was higher than those of nation, Seoul, and S public health center. Second, participants who responded ‘I don’t have time’ or ‘I worry that I have cancer’ were less likely to screen the breasts for cancer. Third, knowledge and beliefs about breast cancer and screening were significantly improved after activities of navigators. Fourth, logistic regression showed that patients who have barriers to screening were less likely to screen for breast cancer, and those who have experiences about navigation services were more likely to have breast cancer screening. This study contributes to the improvement in cancer screening rate and knowledge/beliefs about breast cancer screening, and suggests navigator role to improve breast cancer screening rates.