Adequacy of communicating results from screening mammograms to African American and White women

Abstract

Objective: We examined whether African American women were as likely as White women to receive the results of a recent mammogram and to self-report results that matched the mammography radiology report (i.e., were adequately communicated). We also sought to determine whether the adequacy of communication was the same for normal and abnormal results.

Methods: From a prospective cohort study of mammography screening, we compared self-reported mammogram results, which were collected by telephone interview, to results listed in the radiology record of 411 African American and 734 White women who underwent screening in 5 hospital-based facilities in Connecticut between October 1996 and January 1998. Using multivariate logistic regression, we identified independent predictors of inadequate communication of mammography results.

Results: It was significantly more common for African American women to experience inadequate communication of screening mammography results compared with White women, after adjustment for sociodemographic, access-to-care, biomedical, and psychosocial factors. Abnormal mammogram results resulted in inadequate communication for African American women but not White women (P<.001).

Conclusions: African American women may not be receiving the full benefit of screening mammograms because of inadequate communication of results, particularly when mammography results are abnormal.