TY - JOUR
T1 - Community-based interventions to improve breast and cervical cancer screening
T2 - Results of the Forsyth County Cancer Screening (FoCaS) project
AU - Paskett, Electra D.
AU - Tatum, Cathy M.
AU - D'Agostino, Ralph
AU - Rushing, Julia
AU - Velez, Ramon
AU - Michielutte, Robert
AU - Dignan, Mark
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2007 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 1999/5
Y1 - 1999/5
N2 - The FoCaS (Forsyth County Cancer Screening) Project was one of six projects funded by the National Cancer Institute 'Public Health Approaches to Breast and Cervical Cancer' initiative. The goal of this project was to improve the use of breast and cervical cancer screening among low-income, predominately African-American, women age 40 and older. Strategies implemented in the intervention city included public health clinic in-reach strategies (chart reminders, exam room prompts, in-service meetings, and patient-directed literature) and community outreach strategies (educational sessions, literature distribution, community events, media, and church programs). Baseline and follow-up data from independent cross-sectional samples in both the intervention and comparison cities were used to evaluate the effects of the intervention program. A total of 248 women were surveyed at baseline, and 302 women were surveyed 3 years later at follow-up. The proportion of women reporting regular use of mammography increased (31 to 56%; P < 0.001) in the intervention city. In the comparison city, a nonsignificant (ns) increase in mammography utilization was observed (33 to 40%; P = ns). Pap smear screening rates also improved in the intervention city (73 to 87%; P = 0.003) but declined in the comparison city (67 to 60%; P = ns). These relationships hold in multivariate models. The results suggest that a multifaceted intervention can improve screening rates in low-income populations. These results have important implications for community-based research and efforts in underserved populations.
AB - The FoCaS (Forsyth County Cancer Screening) Project was one of six projects funded by the National Cancer Institute 'Public Health Approaches to Breast and Cervical Cancer' initiative. The goal of this project was to improve the use of breast and cervical cancer screening among low-income, predominately African-American, women age 40 and older. Strategies implemented in the intervention city included public health clinic in-reach strategies (chart reminders, exam room prompts, in-service meetings, and patient-directed literature) and community outreach strategies (educational sessions, literature distribution, community events, media, and church programs). Baseline and follow-up data from independent cross-sectional samples in both the intervention and comparison cities were used to evaluate the effects of the intervention program. A total of 248 women were surveyed at baseline, and 302 women were surveyed 3 years later at follow-up. The proportion of women reporting regular use of mammography increased (31 to 56%; P < 0.001) in the intervention city. In the comparison city, a nonsignificant (ns) increase in mammography utilization was observed (33 to 40%; P = ns). Pap smear screening rates also improved in the intervention city (73 to 87%; P = 0.003) but declined in the comparison city (67 to 60%; P = ns). These relationships hold in multivariate models. The results suggest that a multifaceted intervention can improve screening rates in low-income populations. These results have important implications for community-based research and efforts in underserved populations.
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M3 - Article
C2 - 10350442
AN - SCOPUS:0032894796
SN - 1055-9965
VL - 8
SP - 453
EP - 459
JO - Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention
JF - Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention
IS - 5
ER -