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Religious Attendance, Health Maintenance Beliefs, and Mammography Utilization: Findings from a Nationwide Survey of Presbyterian Women
Author(s) -
BENJAMINS MAUREEN R.,
TRINITAPOLI JENNY,
ELLISON CHRISTOPHER G.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal for the scientific study of religion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.941
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1468-5906
pISSN - 0021-8294
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2006.00330.x
Subject(s) - mammography , attendance , logistic regression , church attendance , health belief model , medicine , health services , religious belief , psychology , family medicine , demography , gerontology , social psychology , religiosity , environmental health , public health , nursing , breast cancer , health education , sociology , cancer , population , political science , philosophy , epistemology , law
Preventive health services, such as mammography, play an increasingly important role in maintaining women's health. Social factors, such as religion, may influence utilization rates by expanding access, offering information, and increasing motivation. The current study examines the relationship between religious involvement, religious beliefs, and mammography usage in a nationally representative sample of Presbyterian women (N= 1,070). We use multivariate logistic regression models to estimate the influence of religious service attendance and two health‐related religious beliefs on self‐reported mammography use. The findings show that religious attendance is significantly associated with mammogram use. Women who attend services nearly every week are almost twice as likely to use mammograms compared to women who attend services less frequently or never. Furthermore, the belief that spiritual health is related to physical health is also associated with the use of mammograms.