title: Differential effects of messages for breast and cervical cancer screening.
abstract: The aim of this study was to compare responses to two interventions (personalized-form [PF] letter messages versus personalized-tailored [PT] letter messages) using medical record data for promoting appointment scheduling and screening for breast and cervical cancer among urban low-income women from three ethnic groups: African-American, Mexican-American, and non-Hispanic white women. The 1,574 women participating in the randomized controlled trial were assigned to one of three groups: (1) PF letter, (2) PT letter, (3) control (no letter). Logistic regression analyses show that (1) personalized-tailored letters containing individualized references to recipients' cancer risk factors failed to increase rates of recommended cancer screening behaviors, especially among non-Hispanic white women; and that (2) in contrast, a personalized-form letter with general breast and cervical cancer screening messages increased cancer screening rates in this population, especially among non-Hispanic white and Mexican-American women.
authors.forename: Maria L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Jibaja-Weiss
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Volk
authors.forename: Quentin W
authors.initials: QW
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: J David
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Holcomb
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kingery
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D010565:Persuasive Communication; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*