In many European countries, migrants utilize cancer screening less often than non-migrants. In Germany, in contrast, higher rates of utilization among migrants as compared with non-migrants have been reported. The role of demographic and socioeconomic factors potentially confounding the association between migration status and participation in screening, however, could not be studied. The present study aims to investigate the utilization of cancer screening among migrant and nonmigrant women residing in Germany, adjusting for potential confounders. We used self-reported information from women surveyed on whether they have ever participated in screening for cancer (n = 11,709). The data was collected as part of a cross-sectional representative telephone survey conducted by the Robert Koch-Institute in 2010. We distinguished between three groups of women: (1) respondents of non-German nationality, those who had immigrated to Germany after their birth or those who have two foreign-born parents ("migrants with two-sided migration background"), (2) respondents who only have one foreign-born parent ("migrant with one-sided migration background"), and (3) all others ("non-migrants"). To account for confounders, logistic regression analysis was performed. Only individuals proficient in German were included in the survey, allowing to control for a bias arising from poor language proficiency. 84.9% of nonmigrant women, 82.1% of women with a one-sided, and 70.5% of women with a two-sided migration background had utilized screening for cancer at least once in their lifetime before the survey. The adjusted odds ratios (OR) as compared with nonmigrant women were 0.99 (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.77-1.27) and 0.55 (95% CI: 0.47-0.64), respectively. The study shows that migrant women with a two-sided migration background residing in Germany utilize screening for cancer less often than nonmigrant women - independently of demographic and socioeconomic factors. This is in line with findings from other countries. Likely, barriers that migrant women encounter limit them from taking informed choices. These barriers need to be identified and appropriate measures aiming to enhance informed decision making must be implemented. Copyright © 2016 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

Screening cancer immigrants Minority Germany

Germany immigrant mass screening demography minority group Neoplasms human Self Report middle aged controlled study priority journal early cancer diagnosis health status Aged cancer screening Early Detection of Cancer Cross-Sectional Studies social status cross-sectional study Humans smoking female Socioeconomic Factors socioeconomics blue collar worker Article health care utilization employment status adult major clinical study migration utilization cancer diagnosis Transients and Migrants