USING PHYSICIAN CORRESPONDENCE AND POSTCARD REMINDERS TO PROMOTE MAMMOGRAPHY USE

Objectives. In a health maintenance organization that mails letters to women recommending that they schedule mammograms, we conducted a rand omized trial to evaluate simple methods of increasing the use of scree ning mammography. Methods. Using a 2 x 2 factorial design, we tested t he effects of (1) mailing the recommendation letter from each woman's primary care physician rather than from the program director and (2) s ending a subsequent reminder postcard. Results. Sending a reminder pos tcard nearly doubled the odds that women would get mammograms within 1 year (participate). The letter from the woman's personal physician ha d no effect. Attending a clinic more than 45 minutes from the screenin g center, being a current smoker, or being in fair or poor health were negatively associated with subsequently obtaining a mammogram. The od ds of participation doubled if women had had previous mammograms. Conc lusions. When preceded by written recommendations to schedule mammogra ms, reminder postcards effectively increased participation. Future ran domized trials to promote use of screening mammography should compare interventions with a reminder condition.