A study presented at the 2002 annual meeting of the American Geriatrics Society shows that on-site, mobile mammography at community sites is an effective means of reaching older women who would not ordinarily undergo screening for breast cancer.

Led by David Reuben, MD, researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles and the RAND Corporation looked at a volunteer sample of nearly 500 women between the ages of 65 and 84 who had not had a mammogram in the previous year.

Older women at sixty community based meal sites, senior centers and clubs participated in the study and all received on-site multi-component health education. At half of the sites, selected randomly, participants were given the opportunity to receive a mammogram.

At sites where mammography was offered, 55% of women opted for it within three months, while only 40% of women at other sites underwent screening over the same time period. Mobile mammography was particularly effective for three groups with traditionally low screening rates: Asians, Hispanics, and the economically disadvantaged.

Among women who had never been screened, 33% of the subjects who had access to mobile mammography opted for it, while only 12.5% of the women at sites where only health education was available chose to be screened.

The researchers concluded that mobile mammography "is an effective method to increase breast cancer screening among older women."

SOURCE:
Annual Meeting of the American Geriatrics Society, May 9, 2002, Washington, DC