Is Canadian women’s breast cancer screening behaviour associated with having a family doctor?

OBJECTIVE To assess whether regular care from a family physician is associated with regular participation in screening mammography. DESIGN Secondary analysis of the 2006 Canadian Community Health Survey data. SETTING Canada. PARTICIPANTS Cross-sectional sample of 15 195 Canadian women aged 50 to 69 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The outcome of interest was screening mammography within the past 2 years; the key explanatory factor was active interaction with a family physician. Control factors included sociodemographic characteristics, other cancer screening behaviour, and other cancer risk habits. RESULTS Active interaction with a regular family doctor doubled the odds that a woman had received a recent screening mammogram. Other cancer screening and preventive measures were also strongly associated with that outcome. A woman who had had a recent Papanicolaou test was more than 3 times as likely to have had a recent mammogram; nonsmokers were much more likely to have had a recent mammogram than smokers. CONCLUSION Adults who receive regular care from family physicians are more likely to participate in screening mammography within the recommended time frames.