Difficulty in reaching low-income women for screening mammography

Low-income women have a high mortality from breast cancer. Yet, they partic ipate in breast cancer early detection screening programs less than women i n the general population. An intervention study to improve screening mammog raphy rates of low-income women participating in Tennessee's TennCare progr am (state Medicaid-and Medicare program) revealed significant barriers to r eaching these women. Intervention methods included mail, telephone calls, a nd home visits. Results indicate that only 38 percent of the women could be contacted for a baseline survey. Reasons for noncontact included absence f rom home (39 percent), having moved (22 percent), refusal to participate (1 7 percent), having no physical-domicile (15 percent), language barriers (4 percent), and miscellaneous other factors (4 percent). Women with telephone s tended to have a relatively higher economic status and were more successf ully reached than women without telephones. These findings provide useful i nsights for future program planning and research design.