Experiences and perceptions about undergoing mammographic screening: a qualitative study involving women from a county in Sweden

Figures & data

Table 1. Sampling result.

	Municipality A		Municipality B		Municipality C
Attendance rate	84.4 per cent		80.4 per cent		75.6 per cent
Distance from reference city	20–40 km		60–80 km		60–80 km
Focus group	A 1	A2	B1	B2	C1	C2
Number of participants	4	4	5	4	5	5
	Same workplace		Age group 70 +	Same workplace	Same residential area	Same workplace
	Same type of job		Different types of jobs,when working	Similar types of jobs	Different types of jobs	Similar types of jobs
	Acquainted		Not acquainted	Some acquainted	Well acquainted	Acquainted

Note. Attendance rate and distance from reference city (Zidar et al., 2015)

Table 2. Socio-demographic characteristics of the participants.

Variable	N
Age range (median age: 60 years, range: 42–74 years)
40–49	5
50–59	8
60–69	9
70–74	5
Total	27
Marital status
Single	4
Cohabiting/married	18
Divorced/widowed	5
Total	27
Number of children
0–1	3
2	14
3+	10
Total	27
Level of education
Primary	2
Secondary	9
Tertiary	16
Total	27
Country/region/continent of origin
Sweden	23
Scandinavia	1
Europe	2
Not Europe	1
Total	27
Any of the parents born in another country
No	18
Yes	8
No answer	1
Total	27
Participation
Participant of mammographic screening	25
Irregular participant of mammographic screening	2
Total	27

Table 3. Example of the analysis.

Meaning unit	Condensed meaning unit	Code	Category
“… since I have children, it always becomes a puzzling [putting the pieces of the puzzle] together, and then one shall go there and then one must get rid of the car and be on time (laughs) and in the city [where the mammographic facility is located], it looks as it does (laughs) when one shall go there. So, it is not just to go there and back again as … so it is [takes] a bit of planning before … [going]”. (Participant 1, FG A)	It always entails putting the pieces of the puzzle together when one has children, being on time and planning where to get rid of the car. It is not just going there and back.	Practical issues and alternative solutions	Required and recurring planning
“Yes, it is more difficult to go to the city, like parking and pay[ing] for the parking and all those things. And then there is a distance to travel there and that feels … most of the time I am so economical and environmentally aware, so I want to do several things in the city then”. (Participant 3, FG A)	Want to do several things at the same time, being economical and environmentally aware, and it is a distance to travel to the city, park and pay for the parking.	Inconvenient circumstances

Table 4. Categories and subcategories.

Category	Subcategory
Insecurity surrounding the screening procedure	Thoughts and feelings concerning examination
	Uncertainty when waiting
	Lack of information
Participation as a norm	Impact of other people’s stories and opinions
	Understanding and prioritization
Required and recurring planning	Practical issues and alternative solutions
	Importance of finances
Gratitude and respect for mammographic screening	An appreciated benefit
	Awareness of the value of mammographic screening

Zidar, M. N., Larm, P., Tillgren, P., & Akhavan, S. (2015). Non-attendance of mammographic screening: The roles of age and municipality in a population-based Swedish sample. International Journal for Equity in Health, 14:157.

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