In 1997, the North Carolina Breast Cancer Screening Program (NC-BCSP) developed and implemented an innovative 2-hour training program to help mammographers address the educational and psychosocial needs of rural, African American women in eastern North Carolina. NC-BCSP's extensive survey data (n=2000) as well as qualitative data from 25 focus groups conducted with more than 200 rural African American women were used to develop a curriculum titled Expanding the Role of Mammographers. It was the first ASRT-accredited training program for mammographers in North Carolina that solely addressed psychosocial topics.
The curriculum emphasized mammographers' potential impact on women's attitudes and behavioral intentions, and taught communication strategies to enhance mammographer-patient interactions. It included supplemental learning materials, skill-building exercises and patient education materials to assist participants in applying new skills and knowledge.
Of thirty-three mammographers invited to the training, 19 attended. A structured evaluation form, completed by 18 participants conveyed positive reactions to the intervention. This training workshop was conducted as part of NC-BCSP's much larger, community-based intervention; as such, it was not independently evaluated. Results of NC-BCSP broader intervention appears to be associated, however, with positive population-level changes in knowledge about breast cancer, mammography and actual mammography use.
