PATIENT COMPLIANCE IN MOBILE SCREENING MAMMOGRAPHY

Rationale and Objectives. We assessed the follow-up behavior of women who had abnormal results of screening mammograms taken on a mobile van . Methods. A retrospective cohort study was conducted between 1988 and 1991 of all women served by a mobile mammography van in rural North C arolina. Compliance with radiologist recommendations for followup was assessed through review of patient records and mail surveys of patient s with incomplete records. Results. Compliance was 44% for negative or benign mammograms, 57% for indeterminate mammograms, and 62% for prob ably malignant or malignant mammograms. Women who had a previous mammo gram or had a malignant finding were more likely to comply with follow -up recommendations (p < .0001) than women with normal or benign resul ts and no history of mammography. Compliers and noncompliers did not d iffer with respect to family history of breast cancer or personal hist ory of breast discomfort. Conclusion. Compliance with recommendations in this setting was lower than expected. This may be because rural wom en using mobile van mammography have limited access to the resources n eeded for appropriate follow-up. Further research is needed to examine explanations for poor compliance in this setting.