title: Breast cancer screening implementation and reassurance.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Women not offered screening mammography reported higher levels of negative psychosocial aspects than women offered screening. This was demonstrated in a questionnaire survey where 1000 women were included: 500 women living in areas where the public authorities had never offered screening mammography and 500 women living in areas where women had been invited to screening mammography for >10 years. After this baseline survey, nationwide screening mammography was implemented. The aim of this follow-up study was to resurvey the 1000 women and to investigate if the identified difference in reported psychosocial aspects had disappeared or been reduced because of the nationwide screening implementation.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 1000 women included in the previous survey were posted part I of the questionnaire Consequences of Screening in Breast Cancer (COS-BC1) in August 2011, nearly 5 years after they received the COS-BC1 the first time.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 677 women returned the questionnaire. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in reported psychosocial aspects. Women new to screening reported less negative psychosocial aspects compared with the previous survey.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An implementation of a screening mammography programme provides reassurance for those women invited to the screening. This reassurance is in contrast to the unbalanced proportion between the intended benefits and the unintended harms of the screening programme.
authors.affiliation: Research Unit and Section of General Practice, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Osterø
authors.forename: Volkert
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Siersma
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brodersen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000523:psychology*; D003718:Denmark; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057194:Intention to Treat Analysis; D008327:Mammography; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires