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On-site,
mobile mammography at community sites is an effective way
to reach older women who would not ordinarily get screened
for breast cancer, according to researchers at the University
of California at Los Angeles.
Researchers
looked at a sample of 500 women between the ages of 65 and
84 who had not had a mammogram in the previous year. The women
who participated in the study were found at community-based
sites, senior centers and clubs and all received on-site multi-component
health education. At half of the locations, randomly selected
participants were given the opportunity to receive a mammogram.
At the
sites where mammography was offered, 55 percent of the women
opted to have the screening within three months. Only 40 percent
of the women at the other sites underwent screening over the
same period of time.
Mobile
mammography was particularly effective for three groups with
traditionally low screening rates: Asians, Hispanics and low-income
women. Thirty-three percent of the women who had never been
screened opted to have a mammogram when they had access to
a mobile unit. Only 12.5 percent of the women at sites where
only health education was available opted to get a mammogram.
Researchers
concluded that mobile mammography "is an effective method
to increase breast cancer screening among older women."
Source:
Breast Cancer
Week of May 26, 2002
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