Epidemiol Prev
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Time trends of process and impact indicators in Italian mammography screening programmes--1996-2004.
Since 1990, the Italian Group for Mammography Screening (GISMa) has been promoting the development of new organised programmes and performing a yearly systematic survey of data activity. The screening extension has increased over time, reaching an overall 76.4% of coverage in 2005. The geographical extension is still heterogeneous, with a higher distribution in Northern and Central Italy compared with Southern and Insular Italy, where the screening activity was implemented only recently. ⋯ An improvement in quality with the increase of programme experience is evident. programmes with more than 6 years of activity, compared with newer programmes, show a recall rate in first screening of 6.5%; RR. 0.87 (0.84-0.89), a PPV of 1.7, RR:1.61 (1.48-1.75) andan overall detection rate of 7.6% per hundred, RR:1.41 (1.29-1.55). These results are consistent with those observed in other European programmes and encourage to explore new analysis strategies. The website of the National Centre for Screening Monitoring (ONS) is http://www.osservatorionazionalescreening.it.