UNDERUSERS OF MAMMOGRAM SCREENING - STAGE OF ADOPTION IN 5 US SUBPOPULATIONS

Background. The purpose of this report is to describe the characterist ics of women ages 50 to 80 who do not follow commonly accepted mammogr aphy screening guidelines. It provides unique understanding of the rob ustness of characteristics of underusers across five different U.S. su bpopulations. Methods. The data are from the baseline surveys of the f ive studies of the NCI Breast Cancer Screening Consortium. Stage of ad option of mammography screening and other characteristics of underuser s are presented. Polytomous logistic regression analysis was used to e xplore multivariable associations with stage of adoption in each study site. Results. The five samples studied by the Consortium range in si ze from 259 to 4,477 women (n = 11,292). The relationship of the perce ptions of the pros and cons of mammography with stage of adoption was strikingly similar across the five samples. Other variables consistent ly associated with stage were a recent receipt of a breast physical ex amination and recommendation for mammography by a physician. Conclusio ns. The findings suggest a need to encourage regular screening through effective communication from a health care provider. Intervention mes sages should be designed to increase the pros of mammography, decrease the cons, and highlight these differentially according to the woman's stage of adoption. (C) 1998 American Health Foundation and Academic P ress.