Breast cancer screening interventions in selected counties across US regions

To determine the types of, and the populations targeted by interventions implemented to increase breast cancer screening rates in counties with large African American populations across different US regions.

A brief questionnaire was administered by e-mail to county representatives from 33 states from October 2008 through March 2009. Responses were obtained from 33% of 203 targeted counties.

Most counties (>80%) reported interventions for African American women and for women with low income. Women were exposed to different kinds of interventions depending on where they lived. Most counties in the Northeast (93%), Southwest (82%), and Midwest (100%) implemented interventions that provided free or low cost mammograms. Counties in the Southeast (83%) were more likely to report education interventions. Counties from the Southwest reported using a variety of interventions to encourage breast cancer screening.

In this selected group of counties, different types of interventions were used to increase breast cancer screening in minority and disadvantaged women. Interventions implemented were similar to those shown in the literature to be effective in increasing screening rates in specific populations. Future research should examine the use of screening interventions in a larger sample of US counties.