Promoting community practitioners' use of evidence-based approaches to increase breast cancer screening

Many women do not get mammography screenings at the intervals recommended for early detection and treatment of breast cancer. The Guide to Community Preventive Services (Community Guide) recommends a range of evidence-based strategies to improve mammography rates. However, nurses and others working in community-based settings make only limited use of these strategies. We report on a dissemination intervention that partnered the University of North Carolina with the Susan G. Komen Triangle Affiliate to disseminate Community Guide breast cancer screening strategies to community organizations. The intervention was guided by social marketing and diffusion of innovation theory and was designed to provide evidence and support via Komen's existing relationships with grantee organizations. The present study reports the findings from a formative evaluation of the intervention, which included a content analysis of 46 grant applications pre- and post intervention and focus groups with 20 grant recipients.