DRAFT
There is evidence that systemic programs such as Breast Screen Australia have a positive
impact on overall participation (Legler, Meissner, Coyne, Breen, Chollette, & Rimer,
2002) as well as reduction of inequalities (Birch, 2007; Reuben, Bassett, Hirsch, Jackson,
& Bastani, 2002). However, it should be noted that substantial improvements in
participation rates within an existing program may be relatively difficult to achieve (Page,
Morrell, Chiu, Taylor, & Tewson, 2006). This suggests that careful selection and
targeting of future policies is required to ensure the most effective and efficient methods
to boost participation are implemented. This paper provides some insights into what
policies could be evaluated in terms of their potential to reduce systematic variation in
breast screening participation and also details the type of research that could aid the
development of the most effective and efficient strategies to reduce these inequalities.
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