[Opportune intervention of family doctors in the programme of early detection of breast cancer].
OBJECTIVE
To study to what extent a brief intervention increases the rate of participation in the programme of early diagnosis of breast cancer (EDBC).


METHODS
Before-and-after intervention study without a control group on women who had not had a mammography.


METHODS
Primary care: 3 rural lists and 2 urban ones.


METHODS
All women between 52 and 67 who attended the clinic during a 6-month period.


METHODS
If they had had no mammography in the previous 2 years, the reasons were explored and a brief structured intervention, depending on the reason, was conducted. After this, the woman was invited to make an appointment with the EDBC Unit.


METHODS
Effective intervention: checking that the mammography had been done at the EDBC Unit. It was checked whether women who had not attended for consultation attended the unit with their mammography done.


RESULTS
Out of a target population of 565 women, 403 (71%) attended for consultation. Of these, 315 (78%) were in the programme, 51 (13%) had had a mammography outside the programme, and 37 (9%) had not had a mammography. After the intervention, 21 women had a mammography (56.7% [95% CI, 41-73] success of intervention). Seventy of the 162 women who did not attend for consultation had a mammography in the programme. The rate of participation in the EDBC rose from 68% (385/565) to 72% (406/565).


CONCLUSIONS
The brief intervention was effective in over half the women. This small increase contributed to reaching the minimum levels of coverage recommended in a programme of this kind.
Gobierno Hernández
Jesús
J
Consultorio de El Escobonal, Servicio Canario de Salud, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, España.
Domínguez Coello
Santiago
S
Hernández Díaz
Francisco
F
Fernández Hernández
José Angel
JA
García Marrero
María Rosario
MR
Díaz González
Lidia
L
D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000523:psychology; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012424:Rural Population; D013030:Spain; D014505:Urban Population