Impact of a print intervention to increase annual mammography screening among Korean American women enrolled in the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program

Background: Although Korean American women have one of the lowest rates of mammography screening, only few interventions have been developed for them. We developed a theory-based Korean-language print intervention to increase annual mammography screening with the goal to disseminate it through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP). Methods: Korean American staff and patients at a community clinic advised on the content and layout of the brochure. We pilot tested the intervention from July to September 2005 at a community clinic in Koreatown, Los Angeles County that provides free mammograms through the NBCCEDP. The proportion of Korean American women who received a repeat mammogram during the intervention period was compared to the pre-intervention period using a NBCCEDP database. Results: We found a non-significant 6 percentage point increase in repeat screening from 32% to 38%. A debriefing survey with a subsample of 59 women revealed that only 32% recalled receipt of the brochure and a subsequent investigation revealed that only about 60% had identical address information in the NBCCEDP records and in their charts. Conclusions: Although dissemination of print information through NBCCEDP is very feasible, the reach and effectiveness of the intervention was limited due to incorrect or outdated address information. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.