Are health-care relationships important for mammography adherence in Latinas?

Background: Latinas are the fastest growing racial ethnic group in the United States and have an incidence of breast cancer that is rising three times faster than that of non-Latino white women, yet their mammography use is lower than that of non-Latino women.

Objectives: We explored factors that predict satisfaction with health-care relationships and examined the effect of satisfaction with health-care relationships on mammography adherence in Latinas.

Design And Setting: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 166 Latinas who were >or=40 years old. Women were recruited from Latino-serving clinics and a Latino health radio program.

Measurements: Mammography adherence was based on self-reported receipt of a mammogram within the past 2 years. The main independent variable was overall satisfaction with one's health-care relationship. Other variables included: self report of patient-provider communication, level of trust in providers, primary language, country of origin, discrimination experiences, and perceptions of racism.

Results: Forty-three percent of women reported very high satisfaction in their health-care relationships. Women with high trust in providers and those who did not experience discrimination were more satisfied with their health-care relationships compared to women with lower trust and who experienced discrimination (p < .01). Satisfaction with the health-care relationship was, in turn, significantly associated with mammography adherence (OR: 3.34, 95% CI: 1.47-7.58), controlling for other factors.

Conclusions: Understanding the factors that impact Latinas' mammography adherence may inform intervention strategies. Efforts to improve Latina's satisfaction with physicians by building trust may lead to increased use of necessary mammography.