Jornal de Prática Geral

The Identification of Obstacles to Breast Cancer Screening Programmes Using a Health Systems Approach

Abstract

Zohreh Ghomian*

Although the advantages of population-based breast cancer screening are now widely acknowledged, programmes frequently fall short of their full potential in practise. In order to comprehend the elements that affect screening programmes' results, we present a conceptual model in this study that places screening programmes within the context of the larger health system. In our opinion, the overall screening system consists of several sub-systems that work together to identify at-risk populations, produce knowledge about how well they work, increase uptake, run the programme, and optimise follow-up and treatment assurance. We created the Barriers to Effective Screening Tool (BEST) based on this paradigm to analyse population-based screening programmes run by the government from the viewpoint of health systems. We tested the tool, which was designed as a self-assessment tool.