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Sophia Zackrisson, MD, PhD. Photo.

Sophia Zackrisson

Manager

Sophia Zackrisson, MD, PhD. Photo.

Change in mammography screening attendance after removing the out-of-pocket fee : a population-based study in Sweden (2014–2018)

Author

  • Magdalena Lagerlund
  • Anna Åkesson
  • Sophia Zackrisson

Summary, in English

Purpose: To assess the change in mammography screening attendance in Sweden—overall and in sociodemographic groups at risk of low attendance—after removal of the out-of-pocket fee in 2016. Methods: Individual-level data on all screening invitations and attendance between 2014 and 2018 were linked to sociodemographic data from Statistics Sweden. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for attendance by time period and sociodemographic factor were computed using mixed logistic regression to account for repeated measures within women. The study sample included 1.4 million women, aged 40–75, who had a mammography screening appointment in 2014–2015 and/or 2017–2018 in 14 of Sweden’s 21 health care regions. Results: Overall screening attendance was 83.8% in 2014–2015 and 84.1% in 2017–2018 (+ 0.3 percentage points, 95% CI 0.2–0.4). The greatest increase in attendance was observed in non-Nordic women with the lowest income, where attendance rose from 62.9 to 65.8% (+ 2.9 points, 95% CI 2.3–3.6), and among women with four or more risk factors for low attendance, where attendance rose from 59.2 to 62.0% (+ 2.8 points, 95% CI 2.2–3.4). Conclusion: Screening attendance did not undergo any important increase after implementing free screening, although attendance among some sociodemographic groups increased by almost three percentage points after the policy change.

Department/s

  • Department of Translational Medicine
  • LUCC: Lund University Cancer Centre
  • Radiology Diagnostics, Malmö
  • EpiHealth: Epidemiology for Health

Publishing year

2021

Language

English

Pages

1257-1268

Publication/Series

Cancer Causes and Control

Volume

32

Issue

11

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Springer

Topic

  • Cancer and Oncology

Keywords

  • Breast cancer screening
  • Mammography
  • Socioeconomic aspects of health
  • Women’s health

Status

Published

Research group

  • Radiology Diagnostics, Malmö

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0957-5243