The cost effectiveness of 5 interventions to increase mammography adherence in a managed care population.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the cost effectiveness of 5 combinations of strategies for increasing adherence to mammography recommendations in a population of women between the ages of 50 and 85 years enrolled in a large midwestern health maintenance organization.


METHODS
A randomized control trial comparing interventions believed to increase mammography adherence.


METHODS
Intervention strategies included 5 combinations of physician recommendation, telephone, and in-person counseling. A total of 652 participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 intervention groups and 628 (95.9%) were available at 6-month follow-up. A logistic regression model with adherence as the dependent variable and group as the independent variable was used to test for significant differences between groups. A ratio of cost to improvement in mammogram adherence evaluated the cost effectiveness at 6 months.


RESULTS
All 5 interventions resulted in significantly higher rates of adherence compared to no intervention. However, when considering costs, only 1 emerged as the superior strategy for the overall study population. In-person counseling was the most cost-effective strategy overall, followed closely by in-person counseling and physician's letter intervention. For women contemplating mammography, the telephone contact and physician's letter combination was the most cost-effective intervention. For women not contemplating mammography, the physician's letter was superior. The physician's letter worked best with women who had previous mammograms. For women with no mammogram history, the in-person counseling and physician's letter combination was clearly superior.


CONCLUSIONS
The cost effectiveness of mammography screening interventions varies based on women's prior history of mammograms and their future intent. Further, managed care organization member characteristics can be used to determine the most cost-effective mammography screening intervention based on individual readiness.
Saywell
Robert M
RM
Department of Family Medicine, Bowen Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Long Hospital 247, 1110 West Michigan St, Indianapolis, IN 46202-5102, USA. rsaywell@iupui.edu
Champion
Victoria L
VL
Zollinger
Terrell W
TW
Maraj
Maltie
M
Skinner
Celette Sugg
CS
Zoppi
Kathleen A
KA
Muegge
Carolyn M
CM
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D037001:Directive Counseling / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008327:Mammography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015146:Midwestern United States; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*