Background: Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women worldwide. In Saudi Arabia, breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among Saudi women, representing 29.7% of all diagnosed cancer cases. However, Saudi women demonstrated l...
Background: Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women worldwide. In Saudi Arabia, breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among Saudi women, representing 29.7% of all diagnosed cancer cases. However, Saudi women demonstrated low mammography utilization. Some scholars suggested that religious beliefs impact preventive health behaviors.
Purpose: This study aimed to examine the mediation effect of religious health fatalism and modesty on the association between religiosity and mammography screening behavior among Saudi women.
Methods: A cross-sectional study designed to examine the association between religiosity and mammography screening behavior and the mediating effect of religious health fatalism and modesty on this association, among a homogenous convenience sample of Saudi women (N=86) aged 40 years and older working in King Khalid University. Online survey was conducted from 25 February 2022 – 17 March 2022. Religiosity was measured by the Arabic Scale of Intrinsic Religiosity, religious health fatalism was measured by the Religious Health Fatalism Questionnaire, modesty was measured by the Measure for Muslim Modesty Women, and mammography screening behavior was measured via four questions, including questions about the regularity of screening. All questionnaires were translated into Arabic. Bootstrap re-sampling method was applied for all analysis, the mediating effect analysis using Hayes’s SPSS multiple-mediator PROCESS macro.
Findings: The direct positive effect of religiosity on mammography screening behavior change to negative when religious health fatalism and modesty intervened in the association. Religiosity has a positive, moderate effect on religious health, fatalism, and modesty. Whereas, religious health fatalism and modesty have a negative effect on mammography screening behavior. Primary care providers advice strongly predict mammography screening performance among Saudi women.
Conclusion: This study provides valuable insights into the role of religious beliefs in inhibiting mammography screening utilization among Saudi women. Efforts to promote mammography screening among Saudi Muslim women may require a better understanding of the role of religion in shaping Saudi women’s health-seeking behaviors and involve novel ideas about the role of healthcare practitioners can improve adherence to mammography screening.