PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Foley, Edward C.
AU  - D'Amico, Frank
AU  - Merenstein, Joel H.
TI  - Five-Year Follow-Up Of A Nurse-Initiated Intervention To Improve Mammography Recommendation
AID  - 10.3122/jabfm.8.6.452
DP  - 1995 Nov 01
TA  - The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Practice
PG  - 452--456
VI  - 8
IP  - 6
4099  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/8/6/452.short
4100  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/8/6/452.full
SO  - J Am Board Fam Med1995 Nov 01; 8
AB  - Background: In a previous study we found immediate effectiveness of a nurse-initiated intervention on improving mammography recommendation rates in a family practice residency program. To determine the long-term effectiveness of this ongoing intervention, we performed a chart audit study on two different groups of charts 5 years after the institution of the intervention. Methods: Chart audits for mammogram recommendation and completion rates were conducted on an original cohort group of women aged 40 years and older (n = 91) and a new 5-year postintervention group of women aged 53 years and older (n = 189). Preintervention, postintervention, and 5-year postintervention rates were compared within the cohort group. Rates of the new 5-year postintervention group were compared with rates of women 50 years and older from the original pre intervention group and postintervention group. Results: For the original cohort group the improvement in “mammograms done at least once in the past 3 years” was maintained 5 years later, and there was a statistically significant increased rate from the postintervention to 5 years later (73.9 percent versus 86.8 percent, P<0.02) for “mammograms done or recommended at least once in the past 3 years.” This improvement was also noted for the new 5-year postintervention group when their rates were compared with the pre intervention and postintervention group rates. For “mammograms done at least once in the past 3 years,” the rates were 34.2 percent, 45.5 percent, and 64 percent, respectively. For “mammograms done or recommended at least once in the past 3 years,” the rates were 42.6 percent, 72.7 percent, and 90.0 percent, respectively. In a separate analysis, annual mammogram rates in the new 5-year postintervention group for the 3 years preceding this study were 44.8 percent (1990), 36.5 percent (1991), and 36.5 percent (1992). Eleven percent of women had a mammogram done in each of the 3 consecutive years. Conclusion: An ongoing nurse-initiated intervention is a feasible method of improving and maintaining mammogram recommendation and completion rates. Further studies of interventions to improve the rate at which eligible women get consecutive annual mammograms are needed.