Reliability and validity of women's recall of mammographic screening.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the reliability and validity of self-reported attendance for mammographic screening.

METHODS

To assess reliability of recall of attendance for a screening mammogram, 100 women selected at random were interviewed twice (approximately one week apart). To assess validity, 127 women who reported having a mammogram within the national breast screening program (BreastScreen Australia) consented to having their reports verified by the national program.

RESULTS

Test-retest reliability for the question "Have you ever had a mammogram?" was perfect (agreement 100%, kappa 1). Validity was also high. About one-quarter of women (24.4%) recalled the exact date of their last mammogram and a further third (39.4%) correctly reported the month in which the mammogram was done. Almost all (91.3%) women reported the mammogram date accurately to within 12 months of the recorded date.

CONCLUSIONS

These data suggest that Australian women provide reliable and valid information in relation to mammographic screening attendance.

IMPLICATIONS

Self-reported data about attendance for mammographic screening are likely to provide reliable and valid estimates for research and health services evaluation purposes.