Breast cancer screening: stages of adoption among Cambodian American women

Background: Little information is available on the breast cancer screening behavior of Cambodian American women. Methods: We identified households from multiple sources using Cambodian surnames and conducted a cross-sectional survey, administered by bilingual and bicultural interviewers. Breast cancer screening stages of adoption were examined based on concepts from the transtheoretical model of behavioral change. Results: Our response rate was 73% (398 women in clinical breast exam (CBE) analysis, and 248 in mammography analysis) with approximately 25% each in the maintenance stage. We found significant associations between screening stage with physician characteristics. Asian American female physician increased the likelihood of being in the maintenance stage (CBE, OR=10.1, 95% CI 2.8–37.1; mammogram, OR=74.7, 95% CI 8.3–674.6), compared to Asian American male physician with precontemplation/contemplation stage as our referent outcome. Conclusion: Results from this study support the need to promote regular breast cancer screening among Cambodian American women.