Breast cancer-screening program :  free of charge  women between 50 and 69 years old  mammotest (screening mammography in the program) every other year  physician prescription or invitation  start (Hainaut) : first mammotest : june 2002 – first invitation : september 2002 From the literature, it is known that people of low socio-economic status participate less in prevention activities and screening programs. Methods Data Source : routine data of the provincial centre for breast cancer screening from June 2002 till June 2005 for women aged years at the time of examination, inhabiting Hainaut province. Data are based on women declaration at their first mammotest. Definition : women of low socio-economic status are women who benefit from an increase reimbursement of health care. Results During this period, invitations for a first screening exam were sent. The overall response rate was low with (11.5%) women in the target group having at least one mammotest. 1) Khi²=77.9, p< Those figures are compatible with “Breast Cancer Screening Program - 3 rd Report of Intermutual Agency” which mention a nation-wide index of participation 9% lower for women with increased reimbursement than average. The proportion of women of low socio-economic status among participants shows a minor insignificant decrease over time. Way of entry Women can access the program with a prescription of their physician or with an invitation. Most women (85%) entered the program through invitation. Women of low socio-economic status used slightly more often a prescription than other women: respectively 621 (15.6%) versus 1782 (13.5%) (Relative Risk = 1.15, IC95: ). Previous mammography outside program Among women of low socio-economic status, 854 (22.9%) never had any previous mammography against 1804 (14.5%) among other women (Relative Risk = 1.58, IC95: ). Among women of low socio-economic status who already had a mammography, 1635 (56.4%) had it more than 2 years ago or didn’t know when against 5277 (48.7%) among other women (Relative Risk = 1.16, IC95: ). Second round Women of low socio-economic status who came in 2002 are slightly more likely (42.9%) to come at the second round than other women (36.7%) (Relative Risk = 1.11, IC95: ). Conclusion In our province, women of low socio-economic status participate less than other women to the breast cancer-screening program. When they participate, they are more likely not to have had a recent (less than 2 years) mammography. This shows that increasing participation in this group will touch more women who did not benefit from regular screening before.  Observatoire de la Santé du Hainaut  rue Saint-Antoine 1  7021 Havré (Belgique)  Tél. : +32 (0)  Fax : +32 (0)   web :      P ARTICIPATION OF WOMEN OF LOW SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS TO BREAST CANCER SCREENING IN HAINAUT PROVINCE  Christian MASSOT  Anne-Marie BERGHEZAN  Michel DEMARTEAU