Mammography Radiologists and the Breast-Screening Uptake - Essay Example

? Article Review Article Review Introduction The document presents a research study that was conducted on one thousand, seven hundred and sixteen women aged between fifty to sixty four years old. The study’s aim was to determine the attitudes that women of these age group have towards male mammography radiologists and the breast-screening uptake. Initially, two thousand questionnaires were sent to the respondents through postal addresses to gather information. The results were to be used by policy makers to address the balancing of the radiologists with the rising number of women seeking breast cancer screening. Document Assessment The writers of this document were Fitzpatrick, Winston and Mooney. Fitzpatrick is a fellow at BreastCheck that is the Irish National Breast Screening Programme. He has accreditations from the UCD School of Public Health & Population Science and the University College Dublin. Presently, he practices his medical career in the Republic of Ireland. Winston belongs to the National Cancer Screening Service of the Public of Ireland, as well. The authors wrote the document on January 17, 2007 in the Republic of Ireland (Fitzpatrick, Winston, & Mooney, 2008). The intended audiences for this study were women aged between fifty and sixty four-year olds. They were limited audiences, specifically comprising of two thousand women who had recently been screened for cancer by BreastCheck. The authors assumed that the audience is informed about the benefits of breast cancer screening. According to them, the only point of concern is their attitude towards the gender of the radiographers for mammography. This assumption might affect the presentation of materials because it is likely to leave out a critical mass of the respondents failed to acknowledge the benefits of breast cancer screening. The basic story line of the document revolves around the screening of women by BreastCheck (Fitzpatrick, Winston, & Mooney, 2008). Two thousand women who had previously been screened for breast cancer were randomly sampled and issued with questionnaires via their postal addresses. The questionnaires were designed to seek information on the reaction of these women toward male radiographers. Special attention was put towards their age groups, possession of private insurance and whether they live in rural, town or city centers. The study also sought to find out if their screenings were from a mobile unit or a static place. The important people here are the women who attend the cancer screening and the male mammography radiography. The authors’ thesis statement is to study the attitude of women towards the gender of the radiographer and the uptake of the breast screening. This can be attested to by the design of the questionnaires (Fitzpatrick, Winston, & Mooney, 2008). Document Interpretation The foremost reason behind the writing of this document was to relay the actual state of affairs regarding the attitude women had towards the gender of mammography radiographers. The policy makers will then respond to the screening dynamics through initiating the appropriate actions. Additionally, the document intended to present social disparities that characterize the search for medical attention among women. However, the critical intent of the document was to convince the audiences that the number of women seeking breast cancer screening services is rapidly expanding. This implies that the number of mammography radiographers will have to be doubled to meet the rising demand. Consequently, women are encouraged to understand the situation and begin to change their attitudes and embrace male mammography radiographers. The authors also argued that despite the negative attitudes that some women have towards the male mammography radiographers, close to third of the proportion of women screened do not mind about the gender of the radiographers. I share the authors’ line of argument. This is because the medical profession is rapidly growing and becoming dynamic. It would need dynamic individuals to help care about the patients. While it is true that women are the most victims of breast cancer, it does not automatically mean that they must be screened by female cardiologists only. What should be done is to sensitize women into change of attitude to embrace male radiographers. The authors assumed a lot of things in this study. To begin with, they assumed that the information that they received from the respondents were from their independent thoughts and analysis. There is also an assumption that the answers that were received from the respondents were honest. (Fitzpatrick, Winston, & Mooney, 2008)Moreover, there was an assumption that the remaining two hundred and eighty four people out of the sampled two thousand had the same responses as the 1716 respondents. Apparently, these assumptions are implicit because they are not explicitly relayed (Fitzpatrick, Winston, & Mooney, 2008). It is important to note that the authors have left one critical point unsaid. They are advising women to change their perceptions about mammography male radiographers in order to reduce the workload that the few female radiographers experience. The revealing statement towards this assertion is when the document concludes that “changing feminine culture would lend credence to the notion that the impact of having male radiographers would lessen over time” (Fitzpatrick, Winston, & Mooney, 2008). Author’s Intentions Despite the fact that this document has relayed the results of the investigation conducted using the most comprehensive scientific approach, it presents aspects that are unbelievable. This is because the age group of the sampled population is not uniformly representative of most women. This elderly group is mostly conservative in their thinking and attitude towards men. Since there was nobody supervising the filling of the questionnaires, the possibility of information distortion to favor some interests is high (Fitzpatrick, Winston, & Mooney, 2008). There must be another side of the story based on this elderly age group. Consequently, it would be necessary to sample women who are younger and conduct a study concerning their attitudes towards male radiographers (Fitzpatrick, Winston, & Mooney, 2008). I believe the results of the findings will most likely vary greatly with this study. The number of respondents who feel embarrassed by being screened by male radiographers will reduce tremendously. The main objective of any research study is to use the facts that are compiled from the study to bolster an argument or initiate policy actions. However, this study has suppressed the conveyance and interpretation of the results. I am aware that the aim was to explicitly tell off women who have negative perceptions towards male radiographers to change their attitude (Fitzpatrick, Winston, & Mooney, 2008). This study also failed to verify the source of their information. They assumed that the women and not their family members filled the questionnaires. This places the reliability of the information in doubt. As a way of off setting these doubts, it was advisable that a supporting study is conducted after a certain period. The society that produced this document seemed to be more informed about the benefits of taking up breast cancer screening activities. I also learned that the society is demographically profiled along social lines based on the socio-demographic indicators. This society also relies heavily on the post office as a channel for communication (Fitzpatrick, Winston, & Mooney, 2008). Another surprising aspect of the society is that the senior members of their women folk are contemplative towards their male counterparts. The authors of the document are products of their own environment because they seem to be aware of societal details based on the fine details. For example, they assert that the two thousand people is the highest sample ever been published in such a study. They also confess that the postal questionnaires rarely draw high rates of responses (Fitzpatrick, Winston, & Mooney, 2008). These illustrations illustrate that they have been part and parcel of this environment (Fitzpatrick, Winston, & Mooney, 2008). The environment plays a fundamental role in dictating the character of the authors. This is manifested in the way they tactfully approach the issue of pleading with women to change their attitudes towards male radiographers. This document is a piece intentionally written for a cross section of the community members imploding them to change some of their discernment for the progress of the society. Consequently, I share this meaning with the authors. The similarities in the meaning between the authors and I are drawn from the negative perception that elderly women have towards male mammography radiographers. This is significant for the study because it is the ultimate message passed by the authors in a conclusive manner (Fitzpatrick, Winston, & Mooney, 2008). Conclusion The authors have researched extensively to achieve the objective of the study. It is clearly stated that women in their middle age groups will not mind being screened by male radiographers. This is based on historical unexplained misconceptions about gender parities according to the study. It is based upon the findings that women are urged to change their perceptions and embrace male radiographers. References Fitzpatrick, P., Winston, A., & Mooney, T. (2008). Radiographer gender and breast-screening uptake. British Journal of Cancer, 98 (11) , 1759–1761. Read More