Are self-reported dates of mammograms accurate?

Area of Science:

• Medical screening accuracy
• Public health research

Background:

• Assessing the reliability of patient self-reported health data is crucial for accurate screening program evaluation.
• Mammography screening adherence is a key metric in breast cancer prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of self-reported mammogram dates obtained via postal survey against medical records.
• To determine the extent of agreement and potential biases in self-reported mammogram timing.

Main Methods:

• A postal survey was administered to women aged 50+ within a health maintenance organization who had previously reported having a mammogram.
• Self-reported mammogram dates were directly compared with dates recorded in participants' medical records.

Main Results:

• Agreement within 3 months between self-reported and medical record dates was 75.6%.
• A significant proportion (32.1%) of women underestimated the time since their last mammogram.
• Self-reported data suggested higher screening rates within the last year (85.9%) compared to medical records (76.9%).

Conclusions:

• Self-reported mammogram dates demonstrate reasonable accuracy for screening recall purposes, particularly for identifying recent screenings.
• Underestimation of time since the last mammogram is a notable bias that can inflate perceived screening adherence.
• Medical records serve as a gold standard, highlighting discrepancies that warrant consideration in health behavior research.