Study finds patients overestimate cancer screeni...( A new American Cancer Society study ...),Health

A new American Cancer Society study finds female African American patients tend to overestimate their level of cancer screening, indicating that current estimates of screening based on self-reported data may be lower than reported.

Researchers from the Societys Behavioral Research Center, led by Barbara D. Powe, PhD, RN, interviewed 116 African American female patients at a federally qualified health center (FQHC) and compared their recollection to the screening history documented in the patients medical records for four medical tests: clinical breast examination; mammography; Pap testing; and screening with a fecal occult blood test (FOBT). They found the level of incongruence between self-report and medical record documentation was more than 50 percent for some procedures.

Eighty-six percent of the women who were age 20 or older (n = 94) reported having a CBE in their lifetime, 67 percent in the past year, 20 percent in the past two to five years, and 10 percent more than five years ago. Based on medical record documentation, 35 percent of the women had a CBE in their lifetime, 26 percent in the past year, 4 percent in the past two to five years, and 2 percent more than five years ago.

Seventy-seven percent of the women over 40 (n=35) reported ever having a mammogram in their lifetime, 29 percent in the past year, 29 percent in the past two to five years, and 6 percent more than five years ago. Based on documentation in the medical record, 40 percent of the women had a mammogram in their lifetime, 9 percent in the past year, 26 percent in the past two to five years, and 6 percent more than five years ago.

Of the 43 women asked about Pap test use, 96 percent reported having had a Pap test in their lifetime, 72 percent in the past year, 26 percent in the past two to five years, and 12 percent more than five years ago. Based on documentation in the medical record, 58 percent of the women had a Pap test in their lifetime, 39 pe
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