The mammography screening employee inreach program

To determine whether our health care employees were undergoing mammography screening according to American Cancer Society guidelines and to determine whether aggressive outreach, education and streamlining of mammography scheduling could improve compliance.

All female employees at North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) and several other health system facilities (SF) were sent mailings to their homes that included breast health education and mammography screening guidelines, a questionnaire regarding their own mammography screening history and the opportunity to have their mammography screening scheduled by the Mammography Screening Employee Inreach Program (MSEIP) coordinator.

Of the approximately 2,700 female employees aged 40 and over at NSUH and SF, 2,235 (82.7%) responded to the questionnaire, and 1,455 had a mammogram done via the MSEIP. Of the 1,455, 43% either were overdue for a mammogram or had never had one. During a second year of the MSEIP at NSUH and SF, an additional 1,706 mammograms were done.

People employed in health care jobs do not necessarily avail themselves of appropriate health care screening. An aggressive program that utilized education, outreach and assistance with scheduling was effective in increasing compliance with mammography screening.