20.500.12556/RUL-185029 Breast cancer screening in Europe and the role of general practitioners a 32-country comparative survey Introduction: Breast cancer is the commonest cancer in women, and screening can allow earlier-stage diagnosis. While there are European recommendations on the age-range and frequency of breast cancer screening, participation in these programmes varies substantially, and this could be due to differences in how they are organised and implemented. The role that primary healthcare professionals play in the process is unclear.We aimed to describe the breast cancer screening programmes in European countries and investigate how primary healthcare professionals are involved in this screening process. Methods: A cross-sectional survey in 32 countries. Key informants with relevant expertise answered online questions about the characteristics of their screening programmes and general practitioners' (GPs') roles in this. Responses were refined through an iterative consensus process. Data were examined to identify patterns in GP engagement. Results: We found important differences between European breast cancer screening systems. While most had population-based screening, four countries relied on opportunistic screening. In 15 countries GPs had little or no involvement in the process of breast cancer screening, and in 13 countries GPs had some involvement, including identifying eligible patients, issuing referrals, and following-up results. Screening uptake rates tended to be higher in countries with well-established population-based screening programmes which give little or no GP involvement. Few countries linked GP engagement to incentives or performance measures. Conclusion: Countries with lower screening uptake should consider either enhancing GP involvement or transitioning to a structured, population-based screening system. Further research should explore how best to integrate primary care within national screening strategies. breast cancer screening general practice primary health care early diagnosis European region presejanje za raka dojk splošna praksa primarna zdravstvena oskrba zgodnja diagnoza Evropska regija true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-07-21 11:37:12 2026-07-21 11:37:21 2026-07-23 03:27:50 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 19 str. iss. 1, art. 2689646 Vol. 32 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 614 1751-1402 10.1080/13814788.2026.2689646 285352963 RAZ_Papageorgiou_Dimitra_Iosifina_2026.pdf RAZ_Papageorgiou_Dimitra_Iosifina_2026.pdf 1 A8E1D39241FD7DB8070CAB3CA7E23B5D 301dd5e614b114bf35954f1b166eb377627be0335a72c2bded0cb8b33a5ffc16 2c9b6510-84e8-11f1-9b0d-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=243051 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13814788.2026.2689646 1 8aaa041d-84e7-11f1-9b0d-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=243049 Medicinska fakulteta 0 0 0