Mammography use among older Mexican-American women: Correcting for over-reports of breast cancer screening

Objectives: To determine the accuracy of self-reported mammography use and generate a correction factor that adjusts for reporting errors among Mexican-American women. Design: Self-reported mammography use was compared with a medical chart review. Participants: A random sample of 199 Mexican-American women aged 50-74 in southeast Texas. Main Outcome Measures: Self-reported mammography use for the preceding 2 years and mammography use determined by medical chart review. Results: Positive and negative predictive values of mammography self-reports in the previous 2 years were 73.9 and 86.0%, respectively. The correction factor was 79.6%, or ∼80% of the self-reported mammograms within the preceding 2 years could be verified through medical chart reviews. Conclusions: Mammography use rates among Mexican-American women were not as high as self-reports indicated. Estimates need to be adjusted downward by approximately 20%.