Objective: To test the acceptability of mobile mammography among community-dwelling older women and to identify factors predictive of mobile mammography acceptance.
Design: Case series.
Setting: Twelve community meal sites sponsored by the City of Los Angeles Area on Aging.
Participants: Two hundred fifty-five volunteers aged 60 to 84 years who attended community meal sites.
Intervention: On-site mammography offered to women who had not had a mammogram within the last year.
Measurements: Mammography acceptance rates, reasons for accepting or declining the mammogram, and breast cancer knowledge, beliefs, and intentions.
Main results: One hundred seven of the 255 (42%) women were ineligible because they had received mammograms within the last year. Of the 148 women eligible, 57% accepted the mammograms and 43% declined; moreover, 20 of the 42 (48%) women who had not had a mammogram within the last 5 years or who never had a mammogram also accepted on-site mammography in the mobile van. Variables identified as predictive of mammogram acceptance included Asian American status, not being an HMO member, being married, a reported willingness to accept a screening mammogram if recommended by a physician, and previous mammogram screening history.
Conclusion: Mobile mammography is acceptable to many older community-dwelling women. Although mobile mammography does not eliminate all barriers that inhibit a woman from receiving a mammogram, it may substantially increase screening for some groups.