What Breast Cancer Screening Program do Rural Women Prefer? A Discrete Choice Experiment in Jiangsu, China

Background Chinese rural women aged 35–64 years are encouraged to complete breast cancer screening (BCS) free of charge. However, it is challenging to reach a satisfying BCS uptake rate. In this study, rural women’s preferences and preferences heterogeneity were measured for the development of strategies to enhance participation in BCS. Methods A cross-sectional survey with a discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted via convenience sampling via face-to-face interviews in Jiangsu, China. Six DCE attributes were identified through a systematic literature review; our previous study of Chinese rural women’s BCS intentions; a qualitative work involving in-depth interviews with rural women (n = 13), medical staff (n = 4), and health care managers (n = 2); and knowledge of realistic and actionable policy. The D-efficient design was generated using Ngene 1.3.0. A mixed logit model (MXL) in Stata 18.0 was used to estimate the main effect of attribute levels on rural women’s preferences. The relative importance and willingness to utilize BCS services (WTU) were also estimated. The heterogeneous preferences were analyzed by a latent class model (LCM). Sociodemographic status was used to predict the characteristics of class membership. The WTU for different classes was also calculated. Results A total of 451 rural women, aged 35–64 years, were recruited. The MXL results revealed that the screening interval (SI) was the most important attribute for rural women with regard to utilizing BCS services, followed by the level of screening, the attitude of medical staff, ways to get knowledge and information, people who recommend screening, and time spent on screening (TSS). Rural women preferred a BCS service with a shorter TSS; access to knowledge and information through multiple approaches; a shorter SI; a recommendation from medical staff or workers from the village or community, and others; the enthusiasm of medical staff; and medical staff with longer tenures in the field. Two classes named “process driven” and “efficiency driven” were identified by the preference heterogeneity analysis of the LCM. Conclusion There is a higher uptake of breast cancer screening when services are tailored to women's preferences. The screening interval was the most important attribute for rural women in China with a preference for a yearly screening interval versus longer intervals.