Breast cancer screening interventions in selected counties across US regions.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the types of, and the populations targeted by interventions implemented to increase breast cancer screening rates in counties with large African American populations across different US regions.


METHODS
A brief questionnaire was administered by e-mail to county representatives from 33 states from October 2008 through March 2009. Responses were obtained from 33% of 203 targeted counties.


RESULTS
Most counties (>80%) reported interventions for African American women and for women with low income. Women were exposed to different kinds of interventions depending on where they lived. Most counties in the Northeast (93%), Southwest (82%), and Midwest (100%) implemented interventions that provided free or low cost mammograms. Counties in the Southeast (83%) were more likely to report education interventions. Counties from the Southwest reported using a variety of interventions to encourage breast cancer screening.


CONCLUSIONS
In this selected group of counties, different types of interventions were used to increase breast cancer screening in minority and disadvantaged women. Interventions implemented were similar to those shown in the literature to be effective in increasing screening rates in specific populations. Future research should examine the use of screening interventions in a larger sample of US counties.
Austin
Shamly
S
Department of Health Services Administration, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1530 3rd Avenue S., Birmingham, AL 35294-1270, USA. shamly@uab.edu
Martin
Michelle Y
MY
Levine
Robert S
RS
Pisu
Maria
M
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D034742:Electronic Mail; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2005 Nov;16(4 Suppl A):11-21
16327093
Am J Prev Med. 2008 Jul;35(1 Suppl):S34-55
18541187
J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2008 Feb;19(1):103-34
18263989
Ann Intern Med. 2006 Apr 18;144(8):541-53
16618951
Prev Chronic Dis. 2005 Oct;2(4):A07
16164811
Cancer. 2000 Jan 1;88(1):114-23
10618613
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2002 Jan;11(1):59-71
11815402
J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2010 Aug;21(3):961-76
20693738
Oncol Nurs Forum. 2005 Nov 03;32(6):1207-16
16270116
Cancer Detect Prev. 2006;30(3):297-305
16870356
J Cancer Educ. 2005 Spring;20(1 Suppl):71-9
15916525
Prev Chronic Dis. 2007 Oct;4(4):A99
17875274
Cancer Causes Control. 2010 Oct;21(10):1569-73
20512656
Nurs Res. 2009 Jul-Aug;58(4):246-54
19609176
Health Educ Behav. 2007 Feb;34(1):140-53
16740519
Health Educ Behav. 2008 Dec;35(6):806-20
17602099
Prev Med. 2007 Oct;45(4):252-61
17643481
Oncol Nurs Forum. 2004 Jan-Feb;31(1):105-10
14722594
Ann Intern Med. 2002 Sep 3;137(5 Part 1):347-60
12204020
Am J Health Promot. 2005 Nov-Dec;20(2):96-107
16295701