High Participation Rate in Mammography Screening: Experience from Croatia

The aim of the study was to analyse the results of three cycles of mammography screening (MS) in the Croatian National Programme (CNP) for Early Breast Cancer Detection for women aged 50–69 years in the Bjelovar-Bilogora County (BBC) from 2006–2014.

Data on women aged 50–69 screened during a 9-year period were obtained from the Croatian Cancer Registry and Institute of Public Health reports. Participation rate and performance indicators were examined.

The total of 57,428 women were invited to mammography screening in BBC during a 9-year period and 31,402 mammograms in total were performed. The response rate of 84% in BBC was consistently higher than the national average of about 60% reported in 2007, 2013 and 2014.

The National Programme in BBC has been carried out continuously for nine years with a higher response rate compared with the national average, as a result of additional efforts of the Croatian Institute of Public Health team, as well as good cooperation among all programme stakeholders. It was concluded that to achieve better results in the response of women to screening and consequently reduced mortality from breast cancer is possible through tailored health promotion activities.