No Additional Benefit Found for Personalized Intervention to Promote Regular Mammography Screening

Two different interventions did not significantly increase regular mammography screening in a large randomized study.

Behavioral interventions, such as personalized mailings, have been reported to increase one-time cancer screening. However, few studies have examined the impact of behavioral interventions on regular or on-going participation in screening exams.

Sally Vernon, Ph.D., of the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston and colleagues assigned 5,500 female veterans to one of three interventions designed to encourage annual mammograms - a baseline survey plus a targeted mailing, a baseline survey plus a targeted mailing that was tailored to individual participants, or the baseline survey alone. The investigators then looked to see how many women in each group had completed two mammograms as recommended during the three-year follow-up period.

source: MedicalNewsToday adapted from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute