Since we found a significant learning curve in HRQOL trial reporting since 1990, it can be expected that HRQOL data will increasingly impact on clinical decision making and treatment policies in the near future.

Programs that use social support offer the potential to draw on the strengths of a population--the ties between individuals, the importance of the family, and traditional cultural values--to improve screening for breast and cervical cancers in minority groups. In developing a social support intervention, healthcare providers should consider the similarities and differences among populations; collaborate with representatives of the target community; incorporate social support within hospitals and clinics; and include social support as an essential component of the clinical encounter.