BARRIERS TO BREAST CANCER SCREENING AMONGST SINGAPOREAN WOMEN

Abstract

Breast Cancer is one of the most common causes of death for women in Singapore, contributing about 1 in 6 cancer deaths among females (OECD, 2021; Ministry of Health, n.d.). However, despite the availability of the National Breast Cancer Screening program, Breast Screen Singapore (BSS) and other national breast cancer campaigns, only 37.9 percent of Singapore female residents aged 50 to 69 years of age attended a mammogram before (Ministry of Health, n.d.). Although there are many studies which have utilised the Health Belief Model (HBM) to account for the low breast cancer screening rate in Singapore, few studies have considered and included the effects of social capital and social support on mammogram screening. Hence, this study fills this research gap using qualitative research methods to understand Singaporean women’s perception and attitudes toward breast cancer screening with an in-depth examination on the role of social capital in determining the uptake of mammogram screening in Singapore. This research builds on the HBM by integrating the role of social capital and social support in the model. Incorporating Wagle et al.’s (1997) and Thoits’ (2011) theories for the establishment of the link between contextual influences in women’s lives and their health screening behaviours as well as the concept of “Mattering” by Fazio (2009), this research seeks to determine how being important to others and being recipients of their concern can shape one’ willingness to participate in breast cancer screening programmes. Interviews were conducted with healthy Singaporean women and a selected number of their spouses to obtain their perceptions and attitudes towards breast cancer screening. The main findings suggests that higher levels of formal and informal social support systems motivate women to undergo a mammogram screening. The data also suggests that the presence of social capital strengthens an individual’s self-efficacy in having greater confidence to prioritize ones’ own health, increasing the likelihood for mammogram screening.