A Community-Based Implementation Study of Pragmatic Interventions to Improve Mammography Uptake in Non-Screen Adherent Women

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Singapore, and regular mammogram screening can detect breast cancer early when treatment is more effective. However, many eligible women do not attend regular mammogram screening despite national screening programs and free screening for eligible women enrolled in Healthier SG.

The IMPLEMENT Study is a community-based implementation study that will evaluate whether practical, low-cost behavioural interventions can increase mammogram screening among women who are overdue for screening or have never been screened. The interventions have previously been shown to be effective in randomized controlled trials conducted by the study team.

The study will be conducted in the Health District @ Queenstown (HD@QT). Women living in Happy Village @ Mei Ling will receive one behavioural intervention that has been shown to be effective in a previous randomized trial, while eligible women living in the remainder of HD@QT will receive usual care with no study intervention. Different implementation trials will be conducted for different screening populations, including women who have never undergone mammography, women who are overdue for repeat mammography, and women who are due for their next mammogram.

The primary objective is to determine whether implementing these evidence-based interventions in a real-world community setting increases the proportion of women completing mammography within four months. Results from this study will help determine whether these interventions can be integrated into community health programs to improve breast cancer screening participation in Singapore.