Abstract

Breast cancer screening programme has been implemented in Estonia since 2002. The Estonian Health Insurance Fund finances the programme. To ensure a proper and effective use of public finances, the evaluation study “Breast Cancer Screening Project 2002 – 2006” was carried out by the Centre for Policy Studies Praxis in 2006. The evaluation study showed that breast cancer screening has a positive effect on public health in Estonia. The breast cancer screening programme 2002 – 2006 has achieved relatively high coverage in the target population in a very short timeperiod (coverage 55% in 2006). Coverage shows an increasing trend and the percentage of early detection of breast cancer is high (76%). According to the European Guideline on Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis, screening should detect more than 5 cases of breast cancer per 1000 women participating in screening. The results of breast  cancer screening in Estonia are in accordance with international guidelines. As too little time has passed it is not yet possible to evaluate the impact of the programme on the five-year survival of breast cancer. The data are still insufficient to carry out an analysis of the cost-effectiveness of the breast cancer screening programme. The management of the programme has been improved over years and has achieved a high professional standard in implementation. The evaluation study recommended extension of the screening programme to the age group 60-69 years to, include non-insured women in screening and to find a legal way to collect and analyse data for the monitoring and evaluation of the breast cancer screening programme.