Trends in Utilization of Screening Mammography in Niger Foundation Hospital (NFH), Enugu State, Nigeria

Background There are several different recommendations for screening mammography from health care organizations. Despite the prevalence of these recommendations, utilization of screening mammography is still very poor in our clime. Objective The aim of this study is to document the trends in the utilization of screening mammography in Niger Foundation Hospital, Enugu state Nigeria and to compare the number of females that presented for screening mammography to the number that presented for diagnostic mammography. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional study of eight hundred and seven (807) patient’s data and clinical indications for mammography examinations gotten from the hospital register was used for the study analysis. The data analysis was done using SPSS version 25 and Microsoft Excel and the data were represented in frequencies and percentages. Results Two hundred and forty (240) screening mammography patients in eight hundred and seven (807) mammography requests depicting that diagnostic mammography is the commonest indication for mammography examinations in the hospital. Finally, the age range with the highest number of screening mammography turn up was 31-46 years pointing at a possible adherence to the international recommended age for screening uptake which is 40 years by the patients who presented for the procedure. Conclusion It was concluded that the trend of uptake is still very poor and recommendations were made on the need for well-structured government health policies, subsidized rate of mammography examinations and the need for radical awareness campaigns in every sphere of our locality.