Routes into the breast clinic v001
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The role of health characteristics and attitudes of women with breast symptoms. A nested mixed methods study looking at psychological, clinical, and health factors on help-seeking beliefs
IRAS ID
213776
Contact name
Catherine E Grimley
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Coventry University
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 23 days
Research summary
A mixed methods study looking at psychological, clinical, and health factors on help-seeking beliefs amongst women with breast symptoms within healthy weight, overweight, and obese weight categories
This study aims to explore the help-seeking behaviour of women with symptoms of breast cancer and to see if weight is a barrier in the length of time to seek help or if factors such as sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and health factors have more effect in different weight groups. Help-seeking is broadly a set of steps from discovering an abnormal bodily change, to inferring an illness, deciding to see the doctor, and then actually making an appointment. There are known facilitators and barriers to help-seeking behaviour but little research on the role weight plays.
This is important as obesity is a risk factor for breast factor and research into screening suggests that obese women are less likely to attend for routine breast screening and more likely to avoid healthcare services in general possibly due to weight stigma and issues with body image.
This is a two-phase study using both quantitative and qualitative methodology. Phase 1 is a questionnaire study to determine what predicts the length of time to seek help. Women over the age of 18 presenting at the breast clinic with a referral either from a health care professional (HCP) due to self-detected symptoms, or due to an abnormal breast screening result are eligible to participate. The questionnaire will be completed in clinic and will take approximately 15 minutes. Women who have completed the questionnaire and who do not have a diagnosis of breast cancer are eligible to participate in phase 2. This is a 45-60-minute in-depth interview to further explore help seeking beliefs and will be conducted at participants’ home or on the telephone. The study will last approximately one year.REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/WM/0004
Date of REC Opinion
4 Apr 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion