American Journal of Public Health, Vol 91, Issue 1 55-61, Copyright © 2001 by American Public Health Association
Targeted mailed materials and the Medicare beneficiary: increasing mammogram screening among the elderly
SA Fox, JA Stein, RJ Sockloskie and MG Ory
RAND, 1700 Main St, PO Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138, USA. sarah_fox@rand.org
OBJECTIVES: Older women have the highest breast cancer rates but are
underscreened relative to their risk. Racial/ethnic minority women
especially have low screening rates, often because of financial
constraints. In response, Medicare introduced subsidized biennial mammogram
benefits in 1991. This study examined the effect on mammography rates of an
intervention that informed women about the Medicare benefit. METHODS: A
list frame method of subject selection was used to select random samples of
eligible women from the Health Care Financing Administration's master
beneficiary file. Women were interviewed by telephone in 1991 (N = 917)
before the targeted mailing and in 1993 (N = 922). One control and 2
treatment communities participated. RESULTS: Mammogram use increased
significantly among minorities in the treatment groups. Among minorities
who received the intervention, Black women were twice as likely (odds ratio
= 1.97) and Hispanic women were more than twice as likely (odds ratio =
2.33) to undergo screening relative to their untreated cohorts.
CONCLUSIONS: A targeted low-cost mailed intervention can help increase
screening rates among elderly minority women. The Health Care Financing
Administration should promote its benefits aggressively if it expects to
reach its target--elderly beneficiaries.