REPEAT MAMMOGRAPHY USE AMONG WOMEN AGES 50-75

It has been demonstrated clearly that the use of regular screening mam mography reduces mortality among women ages 50 years and over, The pri mary objective of this study was to investigate factors associated wit h repeat mammography participation. A random sample of women ages 50-7 5 years residing in four Washington State counties was surveyed by tel ephone during mid-1989, The Health Belief Model was used as a conceptu al framework for the analysis, Three groups of women with different ma mmography experiences in the previous 5 years were compared: (a) nonus ers; (b) onetime users; and (c) repeat users, The survey response rate was 72%, and the study sample included 1357 women. One time users wer e more likely to have health insurance coverage, to visit a gynecologi st or other primary care physician regularly, and to believe mammograp hy is more effective than breast self-examination; they were less like ly to think that at least 1 in 10 women are diagnosed with breast canc er or that mammography is inconvenient to obtain than were nonusers, F actors associated with repeat versus onetime use included routinely vi siting a gynecologist, thinking the lifetime risk of breast cancer is at least 10%, and perceiving a high personal susceptibility to disease . Women who perceive themselves as being vulnerable to breast cancer a re more likely to report repeat mammograms, Visiting a gynecologist re gularly is associated with repeat as well as initial mammography use, These factors could be considered as the focus of promotional efforts moves from encouraging women to obtain their first mammogram to encour aging repeat use.