strate the magnitude, scale, and duration of initiatives needed to achieve behavior change.

As the lead federal agency, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) had a central role in increasing mammography rates. In support of its screening guidelines, NCI launched a mammography campaign called Once A Year for A Life Time. The initial message strategy for the campaign encouraged all women age 50 and over to get annual mammograms, not only those who had found a lump or had a family history of breast cancer.

The NCI campaign used multiple materials and distribution channels. There were also distinct campaign executions to increase the relevance of the message to African-American and Hispanic audiences. Once a Year produced print background, media, and public education materials on breast cancer and mammography in English and Spanish. These were widely distributed to national community-based organizations and print media and made available through NCI’s 1-800-4-CANCER telephone line. In partnership with the Susan G. Komen Foundation, NCI distributed television public service announcements featuring singer Nancy Wilson, placed the spots on two home video releases of movies with particular appeal to African-Americans (Glory and Strapless), and began a television publicity effort on Nancy Wilson’s involvement.

NCI also began several major public-private partnerships to leverage additional resources. The campaign placed emphasis on reaching diverse audiences through celebrity involvement. One example was two half-hour television specials produced by Revlon/ University of California-Los Angeles’ Women’s Cancer Research Program. The programs differed not only in language, but also in the use of culturally specific settings and celebrities. Jane Pauley and actress Phylicia Rashad hosted the initial English version. The program was aired during prime time by NBC and its affiliates. The Spanish program, hosted by Edward James Olmos and Cristina Saralegui, a Spanish talk show host, was aired by Univision in more than 600 cities.