The Effects of Standard Care Counseling or Telephone/In-Person Counseling on Beliefs, Knowledge, and Behavior Related to Mammography Screening

Sample: Women 50-85 years of age who had not had breast cancer and did not have a mammogram within the last 15 months. 

Methods: Once consent and baseline information were obtained, women were randomized to receive in-­person, telephone, or no mammography counseling. 

Main Research Variables: Mammography adher­ence, perception of susceptibility to breast cancer, and benefits, barriers to, and knowledge of mammography. 

Findings: Compared to standard care, telephone counseling was more than twice as effective at increas­ing mammography adherence, whereas in-person counseling resulted in almost three times the mammog­raphy adherence postintervention. Both telephone and in-person counseling are successful in changing per­ceived susceptibility, knowledge, barriers, and benefits. 

Conclusion: Both telephone and in-person counsel­ing interventions were successful in changing beliefs, which, in turn, increased mammography adherence. 

Implications for Nursing Practice: Interventions based on altering beliefs are effective for increasing mam­mography adherence.