What can be done to encourage women from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds to attend breast screening? A qualitative synthesis of barriers and facilitators

Abstract

Objective: The objective of the study is to identify the barriers to UK Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) women attending breast screening and subsequently, support the growing evidence base providing solutions to the public health problem of ethnic variation within screening attendance.

Study design: A systematic review and thematic analysis of UK-based, qualitative studies concerning BAME women.

Methods: The methodology of this review is based on Cochrane guidelines. A search strategy was applied to Embase, PubMed and Medline. Predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria yielded 8 final articles which were appraised and thematically analysed.

Results: The main findings of the review revealed three overarching themes: knowledge-related, access-related and cultural-related factors. The emphasis of the importance of knowledge was highlighted by all studies identifying a lack of knowledge as a key barrier to screening attendance.

Conclusions: BAME women have disproportionally lower breast screening attendance and a lack of knowledge is an essential barrier to overcome when addressing this health inequality.

Keywords: Ethnicity; Mammography; Screening.