A mammogram coupon program: a collaborative effort to provide mammograms to uninsured women in Connecticut

A collaborative effort to provide free screening mammograms to uninsured women throughout Connecticut using monies raised by the Connecticut RACE FOR THE CURE was launched during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, October 1994. The program involved 55 American College of Radiology (ACR) accredited mammography facilities and 48 social service agencies. Eligibility criteria stipulated that participants be age 40 or older, be asymptomatic, have no health insurance, and have not had a mammogram within the last year. A total of 531 women received screening mammograms with four breast cancers diagnosed. The typical woman who was screened was white, between age 40 and 59, had a low income, a high school education or less, and no health insurance. Most had had a mammogram at some point in her life, but had not had one in the last two years. It was found that recruiting eligible women was more difficult than initially estimated. Many of the participating social service agencies served clients already on assistance, and, therefore, had mammogram coverage. Mass media, in particular television, proved to be a powerful recruiting tool which reached primarily "working poor" women. Future efforts should allow for a lengthier planning time to recruit hard-to-reach women and anticipate the need for case management to ensure follow-up of abnormal findings.