Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States. Disparities in screening mammography use persists among low income women, even those who are insured, despite the proven mortality benefit. More than a third of hospitalized women are both overdue for breast cancer screening and at high risk for developing breast cancer. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the feasibility of getting an inpatient breast cancer screening mammography for non-adherent hospitalized women prior to their hospital discharge.
Methods: A prospective intervention pilot study was conducted among one hundred and one non-adherent women aged 50-75 years hospitalized to a general medicine service. Socio-demographic, reproductive history, family history for breast cancer, and medical comorbidities data was collected for all patients. Chi square and unpaired t-tests were utilized to compare characteristics among women who did and did not get an inpatient screening mammogram during their hospitalization.
Results: Of the 101 women enrolled who were non-adherent to breast cancer screening, the mean age for the study population was 59.2 years (SD=6), mean 5-year Gail risk score was 1.63 (SD=0.69), and 29% of women were African American. More than two-third of the enrolled women (n=79) under went in-patient screening mammography. All women who underwent screening mammography during inpatient stay were extremely satisfied. Neither the ordering hospitalists nor the nurses taking care of these women reported any concerns or misgiving. Convenience of having a screening mammography while in-patient stay was reported to be a facilitator of completing the screening test.
Conclusions: This intervention was extremely successful in enhancing breast cancer screening among hospitalized women who were overdue for screening and at high risk for developing breast cancer. Future studies may need to evaluate the inpatient feasibility of other common cancer-screening tests to improve adherence and overcome the significant barriers to compliance with screening for hospitalized population.