Addressing pain on compression: women and radiographers working together

Pain on compression is a major source of complaints to screening programmes. Fear of pain may affect women's participation and thus limit a programme's potential to reduce mortality. This poster describes a quality improvement project on pain in which radiographers and women worked in partnership.

BreastScreen Victoria screens over 200,000 women each year. Our Screening and Assessment Services audit complaints and provide a forum for consumer advisory groups to discuss these complaints and offer recommendations for quality improvement. A Radiography 'Q' Group is responsible for monitoring and reviewing state-wide service quality and safety.

A strategy to manage pain on compression was developed at BreastScreen Victoria's Bendigo service. The service monitored complaints about pain, consulted its Consumer Advisory Group, and devised an information-based strategy that successfully reduced complaints and improved women's experience. The Radiography Q Group has further developed the strategy and is currently overseeing its implementation at all screening sites.

The success of the Pain on Compression project confirms the value of a radiographer-specific quality group working with women to achieve improvements in our screening programme.