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. 2022 May;37(7):1619-1625.
doi: 10.1007/s11606-021-07189-3. Epub 2022 Feb 25.

Delays in Follow-up Care for Abnormal Mammograms in Mobile Mammography Versus Fixed-Clinic Patients

Suzanne S Vang  1 , Alexandra Dunn  2 , Laurie R Margolies  3 , Lina Jandorf  4
Affiliations

Delays in Follow-up Care for Abnormal Mammograms in Mobile Mammography Versus Fixed-Clinic Patients

Suzanne S Vang et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2022 May.

Abstract

Background: Mobile mammographic services (MM) have been shown to increase breast cancer screening in medically underserved women. However, little is known about MM patients' adherence to follow-up of abnormal mammograms and how this compares with patients from traditional, fixed clinics.

Objectives: To assess delays in follow-up of abnormal mammograms in women screened using MM versus fixed clinics.

Design: Electronic medical record review of abnormal screening mammograms.

Subjects: Women screened on a MM van or at a fixed clinic with an abnormal radiographic result in 2019 (N = 1,337).

Main measures: Our outcome was delay in follow-up of an abnormal mammogram of 60 days or greater. Guided by Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Services Utilization, we assessed the following: predisposing (age, ethnicity, marital status, preferred language), enabling (insurance, provider referral, clinic site), and need (personal breast cancer history, family history of breast/ovarian cancer) factors.

Key results: Only 45% of MM patients had obtained recommended follow-up within 60 days of an abnormal screening compared to 72% of fixed-site patients (p < .001). After adjusting for predisposing, enabling, and need factors, MM patients were 2.1 times more likely to experience follow-up delays than fixed-site patients (CI: 1.5-3.1; p < .001). African American (OR: 1.5; CI: 1.0-2.1; p < .05) and self-referred (OR: 1.8; CI: 1.2-2.8; p < .01) women were significantly more likely to experience delays compared to Non-Hispanic White women or women with a provider referral, respectively. Women who were married (OR: 0.63; CI: 0.5-0.9; p < .01), had breast cancer previously (OR: 0.37; CI: 0.2-0.8; p < .05), or had a family history of breast/ovarian cancer (OR: 0.76; CI: 0.6-0.9; p < .05) were less likely to experience delayed care compared to unmarried women, women with no breast cancer history, or women without a family history of breast/ovarian cancer, respectively.

Conclusions: A substantial proportion of women screened using MM had follow-up delays. Women who are African American, self-referred, or unmarried are particularly at risk of experiencing delays in care for an abnormal mammogram.

Keywords: abnormal mammogram; breast cancer; mobile mammography; screening; underserved.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they do not have a conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conceptual framework for analyzing factors associated with timely follow-up based on Andersen’s behavioral model of health services utilization
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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