• Suzanne S Vang, Alexandra Dunn, Laurie R Margolies, and Lina Jandorf.
• Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1077, New York, NY, 10029, USA. suzanne.vang@mssm.edu.
• J Gen Intern Med. 2022 May 1; 37 (7): 161916251619-1625.

BackgroundMobile 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.ObjectivesTo assess delays in follow-up of abnormal mammograms in women screened using MM versus fixed clinics.DesignElectronic medical record review of abnormal screening mammograms.SubjectsWomen screened on a MM van or at a fixed clinic with an abnormal radiographic result in 2019 (N = 1,337).Main MeasuresOur 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 ResultsOnly 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.ConclusionsA 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.© 2021. Society of General Internal Medicine.

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