PURPOSE This descriptive study was undertaken to explore the distribution of stages of mammography adoption and identify benefits and barriers perceived by women according to the stage of mammography adoption. METHODS: A total of 227 women aged between 30-60 was selected by the convenient sampling in W city. The instrument developed by the researcher based on the scales of Champion(1993), Champion & Skinner(2003), and Rakowski et al (1992) was used. RESULTS: The distribution of stages of mammography adoption was as following; precontemplation 30.7%, contemplation 23.8%, relapse 20.2%, action 14.4%, and maintenance 10.8%. Women in maintenance and actors showed high scores in benefits and low scores in barriers. Those in relapse reported high scores in both benefits and barriers, while precontemplators and contemplators showed high score in barriers and low scores in benefits. CONCLUSION: Despite the rate of mammography participation has increased, the proportion of maintenance stage is still low and that of relapse is high. For those in relapse, strategies to eliminate barriers hindering regular and continuous mammography are necessary. For precontemplators and contemplators, detail information including purpose, procedure and benefits of mammography should be given primarily.
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