Event: 37th Annual Conference of the European Health Psychology Society – Ehps 23
                 Bremen, 4-8 Settembre

Contribution: Why did i get engaged in cancer screening? Women positioning in narratives about preventive practices

Authors: Daniela Lemmo, Maria Francesca Freda, Maria Luisa Martino, Roberto Bianco, Anna Rosa Donizetti, Daniela Caso

Abstract: Today, the promotion of breast and cervical screening programs is considered a key phenomenon in health psychology studies. However, in Italy, only 41% and 28% of the target populations, respectively, take part in these screening programs. The epistemological framework of shared decision-making (SDM) in the healthcare field recognizes the engagement of both the individual and other actors as a determining factor in the decision-making process. Although engagement is a gold standard in the healthcare sector, we highlighted a gap in the literature concerning, in particular, the topic of cancer screenings. The aim of the present study is to investigate the first phase of the engagement process – called recruit – through the exploration of the meaning-making processes employed by women engaged in preventive practices. In ‘Miriade’ project, a semi-structured interview was built ad-hoc and administered to 40 women participating in breast and cervical cancer screening. The Framework Method was employed for the qualitative analysis of data. The results show that in 70% of cases the engagement begins with an invitation from the NHS. In 30% it is a word of mouth. We identified four categories of meaning-making: risk of disease monitoring; self-care mastery; fear of death management; by chance. The results show that there is no univocal meaning-making mode concerning the initial moment of the engagement process in preventive practices. Instead, there are specific ways of meaning-making in which women undergoing screenings insert their perception of health, risk, healthcare relationships, highlighting the need for a personalization of preventive practices.