Cancer Screening in Homeless Women: Attitudes and Behaviors

Little is known about the use of cancer-screening services in homeless women and their attitudes about early detection programs. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with homeless women in San Francisco to determine rates of clinical breast exams, mammograms, and Pap smears. A total of 105 women were randomly selected from two homeless shelters. By self-report, 51 percent were current on clinical breast exams, 47 percent on mammograms, and 54 percent on Pap smears. These women had very positive attitudes toward receiving cancer-screening exams. In multivariate analyses, discussion about cancer prevention with a health care provider predicted current clinical breast exams and mammograms. More medical visits predicted being current on mammograms and Pap smears. Although homeless women represent a unique group of the urban poor, they are accessing cancer-screening exams at rates comparable to the general population.