European guidelines on breast cancer screening and diagnosis

Should a targeted communication strategy vs. a general communication strategy be used for non-native speakers?

The GDG felt that this intervention, one type of targeted communication, is useful. However, a conditional recommendation was made due to the variability of the capacity to implement this type of intervention depending on the country context.

• The GDG noted that both the intervention and control strategies are not routinely used in Europe for invitation to screening.
• In certain contexts, if screening programme staff cannot speak another language, the implementation of this intervention will be more difficult.
• In certain countries the ability of newly arrived immigrants to speak the local language may vary.
• Access to telephone numbers of non-native speaking women may not be available or may be limited by data protection laws in certain contexts.
• Health providers who are already working with non-native speaking populations in other health areas should collaborate in this type of intervention.

The GDG identified that monitoring the success of targeting communication to this specific subgroup and the impact on participation rates should be considered.

The GDG supports additional research on targeted communication strategies for invitation to screening programmes for non-native speaking women.