Perceptions and behaviour of access of the Internet: A study of women attending a breast screening service in Sydney, Australia

ObjectivesTo describe the perceptions and behaviour in accessing health information from the Internet by women attending a BreastScreen, New South Wales (NSW) Service in Northern Sydney.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingA BreastScreen NSW Service in Northern Sydney.Main outcome measuresBehaviour and perceptions of accessing of the Internet for breast health and screening information and other related health information.ParticipantsFour hundred and fifteen women aged ≥40 years who had a screening mammogram at a BreastScreen NSW Service in Northern Sydney. Data were collected from 1 October to 22 December 2004 (study interval).ResultsFour hundred and sixty-one eligible women were invited to participate in the study and of these 415 women agreed to participate in the study (participation rate = 90%). Of the 415 women enrolled in the cohort, 80% (333/415) of women accessed the Internet in general and 62% (205/333) of the women who accessed the Internet also accessed health related information from the Internet, but only 7% of the total women accessed breast health and screening information from the Internet. Two hundred and eighty (70%) women in the cohort expressed their intention to access the Internet if they were diagnosed with breast cancer. Age (OR = 0.94; 95% CI = 0.91–0.97), marital status (OR = 2.65; 95% CI = 1.45–4.83), educational status (OR = 3.26; 95% CI = 1.77–6.02) and behavioural intention of accessing the Internet if diagnosed with breast cancer (OR = 3.31; 95% CI = 1.83–5.98) were found to be associated with access of Internet for general information. Furthermore, behavioural intention (OR = 2.43; 95% CI = 1.30–4.55), rating of computer skills as ‘average’ (OR = 0.42; 95% CI = 0.22–0.79) and ‘not good to poor’ (OR = 0.23; 95% CI = 0.11–0.49) were found to be associated with access of health related information from the Internet.ConclusionsInformation searching from the Internet is common among women having a screening mammogram. There is potential to provide guidance to women regarding accessing the BreastScreen NSW website and other reliable sources of Internet information on breast health, breast screening and cancer-related information.