EVALUATION OF AN INTERVENTION TO INCREASE MAMMOGRAPHY SCREENING IN LOS-ANGELES

Methods. A randomized pretest post-test control group design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a mail-out intervention for increasin g screening mammography rates. A random sample of 802 women, 40+, resi ding in Los Angeles County, was surveyed by telephone at baseline and again 12 months after the intervention. Results. Fifty percent of the intervention group and 56% of the control group had obtained a screeni ng mammogram during the follow-up period. This difference was not stat istically significant, indicating that the low-cost intervention was n ot successful in influencing screening mammography rates in this sampl e. In the combined intervention and control group, a stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed four baseline variables to be significan t prospective predictors of mammography behavior during the follow-up period: Women who were adherent to the age-specific screening guidelin es at baseline and women who had health insurance were more likely to obtain a mammogram during the follow-up, as were older women. Also, wo men who were greatly concerned about radiation exposure during a mammo gram were about two and a half times less likely to obtain a mammogram during the follow-up than women who were less concerned. Self-reporte d reasons for adherence and nonadherence to screening guidelines are a lso described. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.