Article

Preventive care: female cancer screening, 1996-2000.

Rollins School of Public Health, Room 656, 1518 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
American Journal of Preventive Medicine (impact factor: 4.04). 11/2003; 25(4):301-7.
Source: PubMed

ABSTRACT Low-income and uninsured women have lower odds of receiving age-appropriate cancer screens that can detect cancers earlier and reduce morbidity/mortality. A key question is whether federal/state public health programs aimed at increasing screening and other public policies (e.g., welfare reform, managed care) have affected their receipt of these preventive services.
Data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) were used to estimate the effects of public programs, income, and insurance status on the odds that women received mammography, clinical breast examination (CBE), or Papanicolaou (Pap) smears from 1996 to 2000. State fixed-effects models are estimated. Effects of the age (measured in years) of states' National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Programs (NBCCEDPs) and level of federal funding are presented.
Adjusted odds of uninsured women reporting female cancer screens were lower than for those privately insured, and did not change between 1996 and 2000 despite welfare reform and increasing numbers of uninsured. The age of states' NBCCEDPs were associated with increased odds of mammography, CBE, and Pap smear screens for non-elderly women. For example, the aging of a state's program from 0 to 5 years was associated with an increase in the percentage of women receiving mammography from 52.7% to 55.1%.
Despite efforts to increase screening among low-income uninsured women, their average rates remain below those with higher incomes and/or insurance. However, initiation and maintenance of the states' NBCCEDPs over long periods is associated with increased screening. After accounting for program age, increased federal dollars are associated with slight increases in screening for women aged >65.

0 0
 · 
0 Bookmarks
 · 
33 Views
  • Article: Effect of insurance status on the stage of breast and colorectal cancers in a safety-net hospital.
    Daniel T Farkas, Arieh Greenbaum, Vinay Singhal, John M Cosgrove
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: Screening can increase early detection and reduce rates of advanced-stage cancer. Uninsured patients have been shown to have lower rates of screening. Previous studies have shown that uninsured patients and patients with Medicaid present with more advanced stages of cancer. The aim of this study was to measure the effect of insurance status in the setting of a safety-net hospital. Patients in our tumor registry with a diagnosis of breast or colorectal cancer between 2001 and 2010 were included. On the basis of their insurance status, they were divided into the following groups: Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare age < 65 years, commercial, uninsured, and unknown. Cancer stage was recorded for each patient, with stages III and IV considered advanced disease. The primary end point was the rate of advanced disease in each patient group. A total of 910 patients were included in the study: 836 (91.9%) insured, 54 (5.9%) uninsured, and 20 (2.2%) unknown. Of the insured patients, 301 (36.0%) had Medicaid. Two hundred thirty-seven (30.7%) of 836 insured patients had advanced disease, compared with 27 (50.0%) of 54 uninsured patients (odds ratio, 1.63; P = .003). Of patients with Medicaid, 83 (27.6%) of 301 had advanced disease, which was not statistically different from patients with other insurance. In a safety-net hospital, patients with Medicaid had rates of advanced-stage cancer similar to those in patients with other types of insurance. However, patients with no insurance had significantly higher rates of advanced disease. This has significant ramifications in view of the new health care law, which will convert many patients from being uninsured to having Medicaid.
    Journal of Oncology Practice 05/2012; 8(3 Suppl):16s-21s.
  • Article: Reversals of association for Pap, colorectal, and prostate cancer testing among Hispanic and non-Hispanic black women and men.
    William Rakowski, Melissa A Clark, Michelle L Rogers, Sherry H Weitzen
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: Several studies have found that Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks have statistically significantly higher adjusted OR for cancer screening tests compared to non-Hispanic whites, even though their crude percentages were lower than, or about equal to, those for the non-Hispanic whites. Most documentation is for mammography. This article investigates the prevalence of such unadjusted-to-adjusted "reversed associations" (RA) for Pap, colorectal, and prostate testing. We also investigate large percent changes (LPC) to the unadjusted ORs. Data were from the 2004/2006/2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the 2000/2003/2005/2008 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Analyses used a consistent set of covariates. RAs were more common for non-Hispanic blacks than Hispanics, but Hispanics had a greater number of LPCs. RAs and LPCs occurred more often for Pap testing than colorectal and prostate testing. However, results from the BRFSS and NHIS were often not consistent. Attention should be given to the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, as well as public programs addressing other cancers, as possible contributors to RAs and LPCs. Hispanics may show more RAs in analyses of future data. Discrepancies between the BRFSS and the NHIS also must be recognized and explained. This research highlights the need for vigilance regarding the results of analyses to identify race/ethnicity as a correlate of cancer screening. Results also direct attention to aspects of the results of multivariable analysis other than ORs and confidence intervals.
    Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers &amp Prevention 03/2011; 20(5):876-89. · 4.12 Impact Factor
  • Article: Mammography facilities are accessible, so why is utilization so low?
    Lee R. Mobley, Tzy-Mey (May) Kuo, Laurel J. Clayton, W. Douglas Evans
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: ObjectiveThis study examines new socio-ecological variables reflecting community context as predictors of mammography use. MethodsThe conceptual model is a hybrid of traditional health-behavioral and socio-ecological constructs with an emphasis on spatial interaction among women and their environments, differentiating between several levels of influence for community context. Multilevel probability models of mammography use are estimated. The study sample includes 70,129 women with traditional Medicare fee-for-service coverage for inpatient and outpatient services, drawn from the SEER–Medicare linked data. The study population lives in heterogeneous California, where mammography facilities are dense but utilization rates are low. ResultsSeveral contextual effects have large significant impacts on the probability of mammography use. Women living in areas with higher proportions of elderly in poverty are 33% less likely to use mammography. However, dually eligible women living in these poor areas are 2% more likely to use mammography than those without extra assistance living in these areas. Living in areas with higher commuter intensity, higher violent crime rates, greater land use mix (urbanicity), or more segregated Hispanic communities exhibit −14%, −1%, −6%, and −3% (lower) probability of use, respectively. Women living in segregated American Indian communities or in communities where more elderly women live alone exhibit 16% and 12% (higher) probability of use, respectively. Minority women living in more segregated communities by their minority are more likely to use mammography, suggesting social support, but this is significant for Native Americans only. Women with disability as their original reason for entitlement are found 40% more likely to use mammography when they reside in communities with high commuter intensity, suggesting greater ease of transportation for them in these environments. ConclusionsSocio-ecological variables reflecting community context are important predictors of mammography use in insured elderly populations, often with larger magnitudes of effect than personal characteristics such as race or ethnicity (−3% to −7%), age (−2%), recent address change (−7%), disability (−5%) or dual eligibility status (−1%). Better understanding of community factors can enhance cancer control efforts.
    Cancer Causes and Control 04/2012; 20(6):1017-1028. · 2.88 Impact Factor

Show more

Data provided are for informational purposes only. Although carefully collected, accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The impact factor represents a rough estimation of the journal's impact factor and does not reflect the actual current impact factor. Publisher conditions are provided by RoMEO. Differing provisions from the publisher's actual policy or licence agreement may be applicable.

Keywords

Adjusted odds
 
age-appropriate cancer screens
 
average rates
 
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
 
clinical breast examination
 
federal dollars
 
federal funding
 
federal/state public health programs
 
female cancer screens
 
low-income uninsured women
 
non-elderly women
 
Pap smear screens
 
preventive services
 
program age
 
public programs
 
State fixed-effects models
 
states' National Breast
 
states' NBCCEDPs
 
uninsured women
 
welfare reform