‘Buddy system’ gets word out on breast examinations
Buddy system’ gets word out on breast examinations
Reminder system increases use of self-exams
It is difficult to reach women with the message about early detection of breast cancer. One reason is that women are so busy, they are too distracted by other issues to pay attention. A second reason is that many think if they don’t have a history of breast cancer in their family, they are not at risk.
To grab women’s attention and help dispel a lot of the misinformation, Univera Healthcare, an HMO in Buffalo, NY, paired with the local NBC television affiliate to create a buddy system of sorts among local women. The BuddyCheck 2 program asks women to select a friend to call once a month in order to remind her to do a regular breast self-exam and schedule a regular mammogram. The idea behind the program is that early detection will save lives.
Is the program working? Local statistics showed that mammograms were up 4% in July 1999. "What we are hoping to do over time is to create a better source of data here so we can determine some information about breast cancer staging and when people are being identified with the disease. We want to know if they are presenting with stage one breast cancer, or stage two, three, and four," says Pamela Pawenski, MBA, director of the Center for Better Health at Univera.
The message that is repeated again and again on the television station in news spots and on promotions is that all women are at risk for breast cancer and the best way to beat it is to detect it early. The programming is uplifting, with features on breast cancer survivor stories.
Viewers are reminded to call their buddy on the second Tuesday of each month. The program receives a lot of air time on BuddyCheck Tuesday, as well as the day before and the day after. Thirty-second promotional spots also are run throughout the month, encouraging viewers to call Univera for an information packet.
When women call the Center for Better Health, they receive a kit that includes educational materials, calendar stickers to remind them to call their buddies, a mammogram reminder sticker, and a shower card that teaches them how to do breast self-exams. To create the kits, Pawenski assembled a committee of local physicians with expertise in breast cancer.
Providing mammography guidelines was the most difficult part of the kit design process, because some physicians and the Atlanta-based American Cancer Society suggest that women start having regular mammograms at age 40, while others suggest age 50. Therefore, the information in the kit instructs women to consult with their physician, but points out that the entire medical community supports annual mammograms from age 50 to age 75.
Kits not handed out randomly
Since the program began in April 1998, over 40,000 women have received the kits. "We don’t hand them out randomly or leave stacks all over the place, because we know that if someone is not really interested or committed, they will take this $3 worth of materials and throw it in the trash," says Pawenski.
In addition to distribution through the mail, the kits also are distributed at community outreach events. The HMO receives many calls from civic groups, women’s groups, and employer groups that want educational programs. If the group is larger than 25, the female news anchor from the TV station speaks.
She explains to the group that she is at a higher risk for cancer because her sister was recently diagnosed. She also discusses the benefits of early detection. A clinician also speaks to the group, explaining the risks and what kinds of treatments are available when the cancer is detected early.
Univera Healthcare was approached by the television station and asked to help sponsor BuddyCheck 2. It is not an original program, but appears in various forms in about 60 different cities across the country, says Pawenski. It is typically run as a partnership between a TV station and a hospital. (To find out more on this program, see editor’s note at the end of this article.)
BuddyCheck grew from a news anchor’s efforts to prompt friends and family members to have mammograms and do monthly breast self-exams following the death of a very close friend from breast cancer. Currently, Baptist/ St. Vincent’s Health System in Jacksonville, FL, holds the trademark to the name.
It is a program that gets a lot of support, says Pawenski. "We have brought on board a legion of dedicated breast cancer survivors who wanted to play a part in educating other women about the importance of early detection," she says.
[Editor’s note: To implement a BuddyCheck program, a patient education manager must obtain permission to use the name. For information on the permission process, contact: Phyllis McInnes, Corporate Planning and Communications Department, Baptist/St.Vincent’s Health System, 800 Prudential Drive, Jacksonville, FL 32207. Telephone: (904) 202-4923. Fax: (904) 202-4920. Each institution implementing the program must create its own patient education materials.]
For more information on the BuddyCheck program, contact:
• Pamela Pawenski, Director, Center for Better Health, Univera Healthcare, 28 Church St., Room 100, Buffalo, NY 14202. Telephone: (716) 857-6317. Fax: (716) 847-1257. E-mail: [email protected].
Subscribe Now for Access
You have reached your article limit for the month. We hope you found our articles both enjoyable and insightful. For information on new subscriptions, product trials, alternative billing arrangements or group and site discounts please call 800-688-2421. We look forward to having you as a long-term member of the Relias Media community.