• Jesús Gobierno Hernández, Santiago Domínguez Coello, Francisco Hernández Díaz, José Angel Fernández Hernández, María Rosario García Marrero, and Lidia Díaz González.
• Consultorio de El Escobonal, Servicio Canario de Salud, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, España.
• Aten Primaria. 2008 Apr 1; 40 (4): 187192187-92.

ObjectiveTo study to what extent a brief intervention increases the rate of participation in the programme of early diagnosis of breast cancer (EDBC).DesignBefore-and-after intervention study without a control group on women who had not had a mammography.SettingPrimary care: 3 rural lists and 2 urban ones.ParticipantsAll women between 52 and 67 who attended the clinic during a 6-month period.InterventionIf they had had no mammography in the previous 2 years, the reasons were explored and a brief structured intervention, depending on the reason, was conducted. After this, the woman was invited to make an appointment with the EDBC Unit.Main MeasurementsEffective intervention: checking that the mammography had been done at the EDBC Unit. It was checked whether women who had not attended for consultation attended the unit with their mammography done.ResultsOut of a target population of 565 women, 403 (71%) attended for consultation. Of these, 315 (78%) were in the programme, 51 (13%) had had a mammography outside the programme, and 37 (9%) had not had a mammography. After the intervention, 21 women had a mammography (56.7% [95% CI, 41-73] success of intervention). Seventy of the 162 women who did not attend for consultation had a mammography in the programme. The rate of participation in the EDBC rose from 68% (385/565) to 72% (406/565).ConclusionsThe brief intervention was effective in over half the women. This small increase contributed to reaching the minimum levels of coverage recommended in a programme of this kind.

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