Self-reported mammography screening among Oklahoma women age 50 and older: Oklahoma Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 1997-2001.

PURPOSE: To examine which factors were associated with mammography screening among women age 50 and older in Oklahoma from 1997-2001.
METHODS: Using data from 4,338 women age 50 and older interviewed for the 1997-2001 Oklahoma Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, this study examines the proportion of women receiving mammography screening services and assesses the associations between covariates of interest and mammography screening.
RESULTS: Among Oklahoma women age 50 and older, 17.5% had never received a mammogram and 14.9% of those who had received a mammogram had not done so in the past two years. Women without health insurance coverage, those of lower socioeconomic status and those engaging in risky health behaviors were more likely to never have had a mammogram and, if they were screened, to have not had a mammogram in the past two years.
CONCLUSIONS: These results show a need to focus mammography screening programs on women with lower socioeconomic status.