Breast cancer screening coverage is severely reduced among women who reside in segregated areas: a cross-sectional investigation in Hungary

BackgroundThis study investigated disparities in breast cancer screening participation between living in residential segregations (SAs, segregated areas defined by clustering of low levels of income and education) and in non-segregated, complementary areas (CAs) of Hungary.MethodsIn a nationwide cro...

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Main Authors: Aseel Odeh, Kasabji Feras, Ferenc Vincze, Kinga Lakatos, Anita Pálinkás, László Kőrösi, László Ulicska, Karolina Kósa, János Sándor
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Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Public Health
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1500098/full
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author Aseel Odeh
Kasabji Feras
Ferenc Vincze
Kinga Lakatos
Anita Pálinkás
László Kőrösi
László Ulicska
Karolina Kósa
János Sándor
János Sándor
author_facet Aseel Odeh
Kasabji Feras
Ferenc Vincze
Kinga Lakatos
Anita Pálinkás
László Kőrösi
László Ulicska
Karolina Kósa
János Sándor
János Sándor
author_sort Aseel Odeh
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundThis study investigated disparities in breast cancer screening participation between living in residential segregations (SAs, segregated areas defined by clustering of low levels of income and education) and in non-segregated, complementary areas (CAs) of Hungary.MethodsIn a nationwide cross-sectional study, data from 2019 were obtained from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). In accordance with the Hungarian recommendation, the target group was composed of women aged 45–65, and screening participation was evaluated as appropriate if the women participated in mammography within 2 years. Standardized participation ratios (sPRs) were calculated for each SA and CA. These ratios were adjusted for age and eligibility for exemption certificates. The calculations were done for each general medical practice (GMP) serving a population with at least one SA, as well as for the whole country. The level of inequality was quantified by the relative standardized participation ratio (rsPR) by comparing sPR in the segregated versus non-segregated areas.ResultsThe study identified 11,581 observed breast cancer screening cases in SAs, compared with 417,891 in CAs, with target populations of 45,185 in SAs and 984,198 in CAs. In general, crude participation rates were significantly lower in SAs (25.6%) than in CAs (42.5%), with a rsPR of 0.62 (95% CI: 0.61–0.63). The impact of segregation on national screening coverage was negligible (population attributable risk: −1.2%). The GMP-level rsPR varied widely with a median of 0.653 and interquartile range (IQR) of 0.464–0.867. Notably, 15.6% of the GMPs had significantly reduced rsPR.ConclusionThis study demonstrated that breast cancer screening coverage is considerably lower among women living in SAs than in those living in non-segregated areas. GMPs showed substantial variability with respect to segregation related inequality. There was a remarkable proportion of GMPs without local inequality. The impact of segregation on national breast cancer screening participation was negligible. According to our observations, the segregation-specific indicators should be included in screening monitoring, and its results should be feedback to local authorities and stakeholders in order to identify and address local problems of screening organization to reduce inequalities.
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spelling doaj-art-daebdd744faa4a43b524d8b5ada25e6a2025-08-20T03:17:55ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652025-07-011310.3389/fpubh.2025.15000981500098Breast cancer screening coverage is severely reduced among women who reside in segregated areas: a cross-sectional investigation in HungaryAseel Odeh0Kasabji Feras1Ferenc Vincze2Kinga Lakatos3Anita Pálinkás4László Kőrösi5László Ulicska6Karolina Kósa7János Sándor8János Sándor9Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, HungaryHUN-REN-UD Public Health Research Group, Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, HungaryDepartment of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, HungaryDoctoral School of Health Sciences, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, HungaryDepartment of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, HungaryNational Health Insurance Fund, Budapest, HungaryDeputy State Secretariat for Social Inclusion, Ministry of Interior, Budapest, HungaryDepartment of Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, HungaryDepartment of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, HungaryHUN-REN-UD Public Health Research Group, Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, HungaryBackgroundThis study investigated disparities in breast cancer screening participation between living in residential segregations (SAs, segregated areas defined by clustering of low levels of income and education) and in non-segregated, complementary areas (CAs) of Hungary.MethodsIn a nationwide cross-sectional study, data from 2019 were obtained from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). In accordance with the Hungarian recommendation, the target group was composed of women aged 45–65, and screening participation was evaluated as appropriate if the women participated in mammography within 2 years. Standardized participation ratios (sPRs) were calculated for each SA and CA. These ratios were adjusted for age and eligibility for exemption certificates. The calculations were done for each general medical practice (GMP) serving a population with at least one SA, as well as for the whole country. The level of inequality was quantified by the relative standardized participation ratio (rsPR) by comparing sPR in the segregated versus non-segregated areas.ResultsThe study identified 11,581 observed breast cancer screening cases in SAs, compared with 417,891 in CAs, with target populations of 45,185 in SAs and 984,198 in CAs. In general, crude participation rates were significantly lower in SAs (25.6%) than in CAs (42.5%), with a rsPR of 0.62 (95% CI: 0.61–0.63). The impact of segregation on national screening coverage was negligible (population attributable risk: −1.2%). The GMP-level rsPR varied widely with a median of 0.653 and interquartile range (IQR) of 0.464–0.867. Notably, 15.6% of the GMPs had significantly reduced rsPR.ConclusionThis study demonstrated that breast cancer screening coverage is considerably lower among women living in SAs than in those living in non-segregated areas. GMPs showed substantial variability with respect to segregation related inequality. There was a remarkable proportion of GMPs without local inequality. The impact of segregation on national breast cancer screening participation was negligible. According to our observations, the segregation-specific indicators should be included in screening monitoring, and its results should be feedback to local authorities and stakeholders in order to identify and address local problems of screening organization to reduce inequalities.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1500098/fullresidential segregationbreast cancer screeningcross-sectional studyinequalitymonitoring
spellingShingle Aseel Odeh
Kasabji Feras
Ferenc Vincze
Kinga Lakatos
Anita Pálinkás
László Kőrösi
László Ulicska
Karolina Kósa
János Sándor
János Sándor
Breast cancer screening coverage is severely reduced among women who reside in segregated areas: a cross-sectional investigation in Hungary
Frontiers in Public Health
residential segregation
breast cancer screening
cross-sectional study
inequality
monitoring
title Breast cancer screening coverage is severely reduced among women who reside in segregated areas: a cross-sectional investigation in Hungary
title_full Breast cancer screening coverage is severely reduced among women who reside in segregated areas: a cross-sectional investigation in Hungary
title_fullStr Breast cancer screening coverage is severely reduced among women who reside in segregated areas: a cross-sectional investigation in Hungary
title_full_unstemmed Breast cancer screening coverage is severely reduced among women who reside in segregated areas: a cross-sectional investigation in Hungary
title_short Breast cancer screening coverage is severely reduced among women who reside in segregated areas: a cross-sectional investigation in Hungary
title_sort breast cancer screening coverage is severely reduced among women who reside in segregated areas a cross sectional investigation in hungary
topic residential segregation
breast cancer screening
cross-sectional study
inequality
monitoring
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1500098/full
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