OBJECTIVE To determine if women would have higher breast and cervical cancer screening rates if lay health advisers recommended screening and offered a convenient screening opportunity. METHODS Controlled trial. METHODS Urban county teaching hospital. METHODS Women aged 40 years and over attending appointments in several non-primary-care outpatient clinics. METHODS Lay health advisers assessed the participants' breast and cervical cancer screening status and offered women in the intervention group who were due for screening an appointment with a female nurse practitioner. RESULTS Screening rates at baseline and at follow-up 1 year after the intervention were determined. At follow-up, the mammography rate was 69% in the intervention group versus 63% in the usual care group (p = .009), and the Pap smear rate was 70% in the intervention group versus 63% in the usual care group (p = .02). In women who were due for screening at baseline, the mammography rate was 60% in the intervention group versus 50% in the usual care group (p = .006), and the Pap smear rate was 63% in the intervention group versus 50% in the usual care group (p = .002). The intervention was effective across age and insurance payer strata, and was particularly effective in Native American women. CONCLUSIONS Breast and cervical cancer screening rates were improved in women attending non-primary-care outpatient clinics by using lay health advisers and a nurse practitioner to perform screening. The effect was strongest in women in greatest need of screening.