Table 2.
Illness Perception items
| LIFETIME SCREENERS versus NON-SCREENERS |
||
|---|---|---|
| Illness Perceptions | χ2 | p-value |
| The presence of a lump or thickening in the breast | 1.8 | 0.611 |
| Nipple discharge | 2.3 | 0.509 |
| Sudden nipple retraction | 1.1 | 0.769 |
| Change in shape or appearance of the nipple | 1.2 | 0.743 |
| Breast swelling, dimpling, redness or soreness of the skin | 0.9 | 0.826 |
| Skin changes of the breast | 1.7 | 0.641 |
| A sudden change in breast size | 1.5 | 0.688 |
| Aching breasts | 1.5 | 0.820 |
| Stress or worry | 3.0 | 0.223 |
| Your mental attitude (e.g. thinking about life negatively) | 2.0 | 0.580 |
| Family problems or worries | 2.9 | 0.233 |
| Overwork | 7.9 | 0.052 |
| Your emotional state (e.g. feeling down, lonely, anxious, empty) | 12.9 | 0.002* |
| Your personality | 3.0 | 0.391 |
| Hereditary - it runs in the family | 9.7 | 0.021* |
| Diet or eating habits | 1.5 | 0.679 |
| Poor medical care in the past | 0.8 | 0.847 |
| Your own behaviour | 12.7 | 0.002* |
| Ageing | 1.9 | 0.395 |
| Smoking | 1.8 | 0.601 |
| Alcohol | 1.2 | 0.538 |
| A germ or virus | 9.4 | 0.009* |
| Pollution in the environment | 1.4 | 0.709 |
| Altered immunity | 2.5 | 0.469 |
| Chance or bad luck | 3.0 | 0.562 |
| Accident or injury | 3.6 | 0.460 |
| Breast cancer will last a short time | 5.8 | 0.120 |
| Breast cancer is likely to be permanent rather than temporary | 0.9 | 0.650 |
| A patient with breast cancer goes through cycles in which her illness gets better and worse | 5.8 | 0.215 |
| Breast cancer has major consequences on a patient’s life | 9.9 | 0.019* |
| Breast cancer will not have much effect on your life | 6.1 | 0.189 |
| Breast cancer would strongly affect the way others see you | 7.8 | 0.100 |
| Breast cancer has serious economic and financial consequences | 5.0 | 0.174 |
| Breast cancer would strongly affect the way you see yourself as a person | 0.9 | 0.826 |
| Breast cancer would threaten a relationship with your husband or partner | 2.5 | 0.641 |
| If you had breast cancer, your whole life would change | 5.6 | 0.133 |
| If you developed breast cancer, the chances of living a long life would decrease | 4.9 | 0.179 |
| There is a lot which you can do to control the symptoms if Breast Cancer occurs | 0.7 | 0.948 |
| The course of Breast Cancer will depend on your actions | 2.9 | 0.400 |
| Your actions will have an effect on the outcome of Breast Cancer | 4.0 | 0.261 |
| There is no treatment that will help to improve Breast Cancer | 4.0 | 0.400 |
| The treatment provided will be effective in controlling or curing Breast Cancer | 3.1 | 0.371 |
| The negative effects of Breast Cancer can be prevented or avoided by the treatment given | 1.5 | 0.822 |
| You have a clear picture and understanding of Breast Cancer | 4.5 | 0.211 |
| Breast Cancer is a mystery to you | 2.1 | 0.720 |
| You get anxious when you think about Breast Cancer | 8.3 | 0.040* |
| Breast Cancer makes you feel afraid | 8.3 | 0.039* |
| You get worried when you think about Breast Cancer | 4.3 | 0.231 |
*Statistically significant
aChi-square test was applied for all health beliefs; hence the categorical answers were used to apply this test for association. For each question, respondents were asked to select a number between 1 and 5, where 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree. For certain items, responses were re-grouped to ensure the feasibility of the Chi-square test