Increasing mammography among women aged 40-74 by use of a stage-matched, tailored intervention.

BACKGROUND: Tailoring is a promising technique for encouraging greater performance of health-related behaviors. Tailored interventions are designed to be more individualized to personal characteristics, in contrast to "standard" interventions where all participants receive the same materials. METHODS: A total of N = 1864 women aged 40-74 were recruited from a staff model HMO and randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups: (a) No Educational Materials, (b) Standard Materials, and (c) Stage-Matched Materials. A provider-directed component was common across all three conditions. The Standard and Stage-Matched groups each received two mailed educational packets after baseline and follow-up telephone interviews. The Stage-Matched intervention was based on the Transtheoretical Model of behavior change. RESULTS: Analyses of n = 1397 women (after all attrition) showed that receipt of mammography after the baseline interview was higher for the Stage-Matched group (63.6%) than for the No Materials group (54.9%; OR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.10, 1.86). The Standard intervention group was intermediate (58. 5%). The Standard group did not differ from the No Materials group, but did differ from the Stage-Matched group in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Stage-matched, tailored materials may be a means to encourage screening mammography. Such interventions can be implemented by telephone and mail.

Stages of adopting regular screening mammography: do women differ in decisional balance within stages?

This study examined whether distinct subgroups of women could be identified within stages of adoption for screening mammography. These subgroups may represent differential readiness to move to the next stage of the adoption continuum. Data were from a baseline survey of 1323 women between the ages of 50 and 74 years who were recruited through a staff- model HMO for an intervention study to increase rates of mammography. Multiple regression models were used to identify correlates of positive decisional balance within each of four stages of adoption, and an index of positive indicators was developed from the significant correlates for each stage. Analysis of variance showed that the number of positive indicators discriminated women within each stage. This information can be used to develop more effective tailored interventions to increase the percentage of women receiving mammograms on a regular schedule.

Integrating pros and cons for mammography and Pap testing: extending the construct of decisional balance to two behaviors.

BACKGROUND: The ability to study health-related behaviors in combination rather than singly will lead to a more comprehensive approach to health promotion. This investigation focused on mammography and Pap testing. One index was created to reflect the recency of receiving both examinations. A second index integrated opinions about the two procedures into a single measure, guided by the pros, cons, and decisional balance constructs of the Transtheoretical Model of behavior change. METHOD: Data were drawn from the baseline and 1-year follow-up surveys of an HMO sample of women ages 40-74 (N = 1,605). Data collection occurred by telephone. A series of analyses examined whether recency of screening was associated with opinions about screening. RESULTS: The first analysis showed that recency of Pap testing and whether or not a Pap test was obtained between the two surveys were associated with opinions about Pap testing. The next analysis examined the association between the indicator for regularity of both Pap testing and mammography, with the measure of opinions toward the two procedures. The variable measuring receipt of Pap test and mammography was associated with the combined measure of opinions. CONCLUSIONS: The ability to employ combined indicators for recency of testing and test-related opinions is promising for being able to take a more comprehensive approach to women's health. The paper discusses methodological considerations that arise when attempting to integrate two or more behaviors.

Why do women's attitudes toward mammography change over time? Implications for physician-patient communication.

The present study examines women's decision making about mammography over a 1-year period, using "decisional balance," a summary of women's positive and negative perceptions about mammography derived from the Transtheoretical Model (TTM). Data were from a survey of women ages 50-74 years who completed both the baseline and 1-year follow-up telephone surveys (n = 1144) for an intervention study to increase the use of mammography screening. A shift toward less favorable perceptions about mammography was related to being a smoker and not having a recent clinical breast examination and Pap test. Change in women's attitudes toward mammography was also related to four dimensions of a woman's information environment. Women who rated the opinions of a physician as somewhat or not important, those who reported that at least one family member or friend discouraged them from having a mammogram, and women who felt they lacked enough people in their social network with whom they could discuss health concerns were less likely to express favorable attitudes about mammography over 1 year. In contrast, women who consistently communicated the value of mammography to others expressed more favorable views of screening over the study period. Interventions designed to promote breast cancer screening must recognize that a woman not only reacts to mammography information provided by significant others in her social network but may proactively reach out to others as an advocate of breast cancer screening, thus reinforcing or changing others' opinions or behavior as well as her own.

Screening mammography and constructs from the transtheoretical model: Associations using two definitions of the stages-of-adoption.

The two purposes of this investigation were: (a) to examine whether an association existed between stages of adopting regular mammography and decision-making constructs from the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of behavior change, and (b) to determine whether any such associations would be found for each of the two ways of defining the stages-of-adoption. One method integrated past screening history with a report of future intention for screening; the other method used a single item with predetermined response categories. Data were from the baseline survey of 1,323 women aged 50-74 who were recruited as part of an intervention study through a local Health Maintenance Organization. Results showed that both ways of defining stages of adopting regular mammography were associated with decisional balance and processes-of-change. The method that integrated past history plus intention provided somewhat better discrimination among stages. Women who were labeled as being at "Risk of Relapse," and those who said they waited for a "Provider's Recommendation," may be useful groups to add to the set of stages that have been employed so far by the TTM. In addition, a tendency to avoid the health care system in general was used as a process-of-change to complement the mammography-specific processes.