Reducing unnecessary screening mammograms for women 75 and older

De-implementation of Overuse of Mammography Screening in Older Racially and Ethnically Diverse Women

Not applicable Interventional Columbia University · NCT07511621

This project tests a multilevel approach to help doctors and patients decide whether to stop routine mammograms for women aged 75 and older.

Quick facts

PhaseNot applicable
Study typeInterventional
Enrollment500 (estimated)
Ages18 Years and up
SexAll
SponsorColumbia University Academic / other
Locations1 site (New York, New York)
Trial IDNCT07511621 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

The team used a participatory stakeholder-driven innovation tournament and a discrete choice experiment to design a tailored multilevel de-implementation strategy targeting routine screening mammography in women aged 75 and older. Organizational components of the strategy will be rolled out for all sites, while provider- and patient-level components will be tested in a cluster randomized trial at the provider level. Primary outcomes are changes in screening mammography use and provider orders/referrals, with secondary analyses of implementation processes and contextual factors. The project aims both to reduce low-value care for older women and to advance methods for selecting and testing de-implementation strategies.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: English- or Spanish-speaking women aged 75 or older who have a primary care visit scheduled in the next 2–4 weeks and who had a screening mammogram 7–18 months earlier but not in the past 6 months, and who do not have a history of breast cancer, atypical ductal hyperplasia, or dementia.

Not a fit: Women with a history of breast cancer or atypical ductal hyperplasia, those with dementia, or those who recently had a screening or require diagnostic mammography are unlikely to benefit from this de-implementation approach.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, the approach could reduce unnecessary mammograms and the related harms of false positives, anxiety, and invasive follow-up for older women.

How similar studies have performed: De-implementation research is relatively new and few randomized trials have tested multilevel strategies to reduce screening mammography overuse, so this approach is fairly novel.

Eligibility criteria

Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Patient level criteria

Inclusion criteria

* English- or Spanish-speaking women based on preferred language in electronic health record
* Aged 75 and older at the time of their scheduled primary care visit
* Women who have a primary care visit scheduled within the next 2-4 weeks
* Women who have not had a screening mammogram 6 months prior to their scheduled primary care visit but have had a screening mammogram 7-18 months prior to their scheduled primary care visit

Exclusion Criteria

* Women with a history of atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) or non-invasive or invasive breast cancer (assessed via ICD 10 code)
* Women with dementia (assessed via ICD 10 code)
* ICD codes to use across exclusion criteria: F01-F03, Z85.3, G30-G31, N60, C50, or D05

Provider level criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Primary care clinicians attributed to the 2 intervention clinics that serve adult patients, including those ≥75 years

Exclusion Criteria

* Specialists
* Primary care clinicians for patients \< 18 years old
* Non-clinicians
* Physician assistants

Where this trial is running

New York, New York

Study contacts

How to participate

  1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
  2. Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
  3. Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.
Conditions MammographyMedical OveruseEvidence-based PracticeOlder AdultsMedical overuseImplementation scienceAgingWomen
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.