Decisional balance corresponding to the Stage of Adoption for Mammography in Middle Aged Women

중년여성의 유방조영술 검진참여 결정단계에 대한 의사결정 균형에 대한 연구

This study was carried out to assess the perception of decisional balance of Korean women toward mammography screening. From Dec. 20, 1998 to Apr. 30, 1999, a samples of 1,903 subjects were selected from 7 metropolitan areas and 6 provinces of Korea. Data was collected using Rakowski et al's decisional balance scale to measure the decisional balance regarding a woman's adoption of mammography screening and to assess the woman's current stages of adoption of mammography. The classification of women according to the stage of adoption of mammography was 54.9 % in precontemplation, 31.9 % in contemplation, 7.8 % in action, and 5.5 % in maintenance. The mean difference of pros, cons, and the decisional balance by the stage of mammography adoption were statistically significant. There were significant mean differences between the stages of adoption according to a woman's experience with and intention for mammography and the pros score, the cons score, and the decisional balance score. The behavioral portion of stage of mammography adoption provides a further level of discrimination. Results provide the empirical evidence for the Transtheoretical model.