Intervention to increase mammography utilization in a public hospital

Abstract

At 6 months there was at least a 30% increase in the mammography utilization rate in the group receiving the intervention designed in collaboration with patients as compared with those receiving the recommendation alone or recommendation with brochure. Giving patients an easy-to-read NCI brochure and a personal recommendation was no more effective than giving them a recommendation alone, suggesting that simply providing women in a public hospital with a low-literacy-level, culturally appropriate brochure is not sufficient to increase screening mammography rates. In a multivariate analysis, the only significant predictor of mammography use at 6 months was the custom-made intervention.

Format and readability of an enhanced invitation letter did not affect participation rates in a cancer registry-based study: a randomized controlled trial

“…This finding is consistent with several studies, which have found that enhanced, easy-to-read written brochures do not affect behavior [26,45]. Although improvements to written communication may not be effective in influencing behavior, patients have previously reported a preference for simpler written materials [10,46,47], emphasizing the importance of developing study materials that are comprehensive and easy to read.…”

Goal setting in diabetes self-management: Taking the baby steps to success

“…Although some patients may be able to benefit from the guide with little assistance, we felt most patients would need some coaching and reinforcement. There is little evidence that written materials created for patients can lead to substantial behavior change on their own [16–19], although some Internet-based programs may be able to facilitate enough interaction to help patients change behaviors [3]. At this time we are not clear how much reach Internet-based interventions will have for more vulnerable patient populations such as ethnic minorities, non-English speakers, and those of older age or low educational attainment [20,21].…”

Health Literacy and Cancer Communication

“…Moreover, clinic intake surveys, and research self-report questionnaires are administered with the assumption that patients have sufficient health literacy skills to adequately understand the questions, handle the document format, and respond with accurate information. 17,[68][69][70][71][72][73] Until recently, most health materials, including advisory materials published by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the American Cancer Society (ACS) and others, had an average reading level between tenth and eleventh grade. 20,63,[74][75][76][77][78][79] Although the average American adult has achieved at least a twelfth grade education, the average reading level for American adults is estimated to be at the eighth or ninth grade.…”