Identifying and characterizing one-time and never users of mammography screening services among medicare eligible women.
BACKGROUND
Despite eligibility for a screening mammogram once every 2 years from 1991 to 1997, only a small percentage of Medicare women utilized this benefit. We examined mammography use among 388,707 North Carolina Medicare women from 1994 to 1997 to identify characteristics of one-time and never users of mammography.


METHODS
Data were obtained from North Carolina Medicare mammography claims and enrollment files from 1994 to 1997. Women ages 65+ as of 01/01/1994, continuously enrolled in Medicare from 1994 to 1997, and alive as of 12/31/1997 were included in the sample (n = 388,707). Mammogram use was categorized as never, once, or at least twice during 1994/1995 and 1996/1997. Women with at least one mammography claim during 1994/1995 and at least one mammography claim during 1996/1997 were called repeat users, women with one mammography claim during the 4 years were labeled one-time users, and women with zero mammography claims during the 4 years were termed never users. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine associations between characteristics and mammography frequency.


RESULTS
Biennial mammography claims data rates were 35.3% in 1994/1995 and 41.8% in 1996/1997. Compared with all other users, one-time users (n = 108,899) were more likely to be ages 65-74 (vs 75-84 and 85+), live in an urban versus rural county, and be eligible for Medicare only versus Medicare and Medicaid. Never users (n = 184,545) were more likely to be ages 85+, be non-Caucasian, live in a rural county, and be eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid versus Medicare.


CONCLUSIONS
These results demonstrate different demographic characteristics for one-time and never mammography users. This approach of using multiple years of claims data to segment the targeted population provides the opportunity to tailor interventions to subgroups.
Henderson
L M
LM
Medical Review of North Carolina, Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina 27627, USA. ncpro.lhenderson@sdps.org
Schenck
A P
AP
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008327:Mammography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006278:Medicare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009657:North Carolina; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States