Strategies for Increasing Mammography Screening in Primary Care in Chile: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the cancer with the highest incidence among women in Chile and in many Latin American countries. Breast cancer screening has very low compliance among Chilean women. METHODS: We compared the effects on mammography screening rates of standard care, of a low-intensity intervention based on mail contact, and of a high-intensity intervention based on mail plus telephone or personal contact. A random sample of 500 women with the age of 50 to 70 years registered at a community clinic in Santiago who had not had a mammogram in the past 2 years were randomly assigned to one of the three intervention groups. Six months after randomization, participants were re-evaluated f..