Attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge about mammography among women over forty years of age.

In this study, the relative impact of health beliefs and physician request in predicting previous mammography experience among women over age 40 was examined. Responses from a sample of 201 women were analyzed using multiple regression techniques. The variable that accounted for the largest proportion (56%) of variance between women who had a mammogram or intended to and those who had not had the test and did not intend to was physician request for mammography. Women's perceptions about the benefits of mammography and perceived barriers were also significant, but the relative strength of these variables was low. Among women who had been asked by a physician to have a mammogram, 89.6% had done so, while only 10.4% of women who had not been asked to have a mammogram had done so. Implications for cancer education are discussed.