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Background: Evidence indicates that although first-degree relatives of breast cancer cases are at increased risk of developing the disease themselves, they may be underutilizing screening mammography. Therefore, interventions to increase the use of mammography in this group are urgently needed., Methods: A randomized two-group design was used to evaluate an intervention to increase mammography use among women (N = 901) with at least one first-degree relative with breast cancer. A statewide cancer registry was used to obtain a random sample of breast cancer cases who identified eligible relatives. The mailed intervention consisted of personalized risk notification and other theoretically driven materials tailored for high-risk women., Results: An overall significant intervention effect was observed (8% intervention group advantage) in mammography at post-test. There was an interaction of the intervention with age such that there was no effect among women <50 years of age and a fairly large (20% advantage) effect among women 50+ and 65+. Health insurance, education, and having had a mammogram in the year before baseline assessment were positive predictors of mammography at post-test. Perceived risk, calculated risk, and relationship to index cancer case were not associated with mammography receipt., Conclusion: The intervention was successful in increasing mammography rates among high-risk women 50+ years of age. Further work is needed to determine why it was ineffective among younger women., (Copyright 1999 American Health Foundation and Academic Press.)

Background: This paper describes the results of an AIDS knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors survey of a random sample of heterosexual California adults., Methods: The study was conducted from August 1990 until February 1991 and consisted of telephone interviews conducted in English and Spanish, with a household probability sample of 3,545 California adults, undersampling those age 44 and older., Results: Approximately one-third of the sample believed that HIV/AIDS is contracted by donating blood, and 20% believed the infection could result from insect bites. Tolerance toward HIV-infected persons was highest among young, male, white, employed individuals with higher levels of education and income. Twenty-seven percent of males and 14% of females were categorized as high risk based on the presence of at least 1 of 7 risk factors. High-risk respondents tended to be male, young, employed, never married, U.S. born, and English speaking. Compared to low-risk respondents, they were less likely to use condoms and more likely to use alcohol and drugs in conjunction with sex. Most common sources of AIDS information were television, newspapers, and magazines., Conclusions: More strenuous efforts are needed to reach young adults, especially those beyond college age, with AIDS prevention messages. Creative messages via popular media venues should be explored.

METHODS. A randomized pretest post-test control group design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a mail-out intervention for increasing screening mammography rates. A random sample of 802 women, 40+, residing in Los Angeles County, was surveyed by telephone at baseline and again 12 months after the intervention. RESULTS. Fifty percent of the intervention group and 56% of the control group had obtained a screening mammogram during the follow-up period. This difference was not statistically significant, indicating that the low-cost intervention was not successful in influencing screening mammography rates in this sample. In the combined intervention and control group, a stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed four baseline variables to be significant prospective predictors of mammography behavior during the follow-up period: Women who were adherent to the age-specific screening guidelines at baseline and women who had health insurance were more likely to obtain a mammogram during the follow-up, as were older women. Also, women who were greatly concerned about radiation exposure during a mammogram were about two and a half times less likely to obtain a mammogram during the follow-up than women who were less concerned. Self-reported reasons for adherence and nonadherence to screening guidelines are also described.