Addressing infrequent cancer screening among women.

National health policies must be revised to support basic health services for all Americans, a breadth of cost-effective health practitioners, and a system that provides comprehensive, coordinated care in decentralized locations. State and local advocacy groups should increase consumers and policy-makers awareness about inadequate cancer screening. Educational institutions should address cancer prevention for practitioners in training. Practice institutions should employ nurses and nurse practitioners more effectively, as well as institute computerized feed-back and reminder systems. More rigorous research on the effect of educational messages on client beliefs, affect, and screening behavior are needed to guide interventions for cancer control.