Screening rarely screened women: time-to-service and 24-month outcomes of tailored interventions.

Background: Managed care organizations and others reaching out to underscreened women seek strategies to encourage mammogram and Pap screening.

Methods: Female HMO members aged 50-69 years and overdue for a mammogram and a Pap test (n = 501) were followed for 24 months after interventions began. An Outreach intervention (tailored letters and motivational telephone interviews), an Inreach intervention (motivational interview delivered in clinics), and a Combined Inreach/Outreach intervention were compared to Usual Care at 24 months.