Preventive Care

Flagging Disparities Helps Locate Best Places for Cancer Screening Sites

November 28, 2023 - A new study from ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute provides a roadmap for states to identify where they can put more breast cancer screening sites, a move the study authors said could help close racial health disparities in screening. The study, published in Breast Cancer Research, also flagged regions...

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Health Literacy Stands in the Way of Adequate Breast Cancer Screening

by Sara Heath

Fewer than half of adults are aware of the common signs of breast cancer, save for having a lump, a clear signal that patient health literacy is faltering, researchers from The Ohio State University...

COVID Boosters See More Vaccine Hesitancy Than Flu & RSV Shots

by Sara Heath

The new COVID-19 booster has decent traction among adults, but many still harbor more vaccine hesitancy and safety concerns for the shot than they do for other vaccinations like the flu and RSV shots,...

Public Health Messaging on RSV Needs Leg Up for Older Adults

by Sara Heath

Six in 10 adults over age 50 haven’t heard of RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, and another 70 percent haven’t heard of the RSV vaccine most experts say could stave off another...

Patient Education, Navigation Stand in the Way of Preventive Screening

by Sara Heath

There are a lot of reasons why a young person might delay a preventive screening, with a new survey looking at colorectal cancer (CRC) screening showing that patient education and navigation are...

Latinas See Disparities in Breast Cancer Screening, Age of Diagnosis

by Sara Heath

Hispanic or Latina women get diagnosed with breast cancer at a younger age than their counterparts of other races, but that’s not because of more habitual breast cancer screening access. In...

Making HIV Testing A Standard of Preventive Care to Boost Equity

by Sara Heath

Maranda Ward, EdD, MPH, wants every primary care provider asking all of their patients about HIV screening as a standard of preventive care. After all, that’s the best way to keep patients from slipping through the cracks and going...

Expanding Cancer Screening Access Beyond Charity Care

by Sara Heath

It’s not uncommon for healthcare organizations to set up free breast cancer screening events as part of their charity care efforts to serve low-income, uninsured people. But what happens when a screening turns into a breast cancer...

How a Payer-Provider Partnership Supported Share Decision-Making

by Sara Heath

The problem of tackling cancer screening gaps post-pandemic isn’t exactly an original story. Most payers and their provider partners faced this issue after COVID-19 pushed many to delay preventive care. But a unique partnership...

At-Home HPV Testing Kits Could Close Cervical Cancer Screening Gaps

by Sara Heath

A study out of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health is bringing cervical cancer screenings to the forefront, outlining key strategies that could help get women in for care and close care...

Low Health Literacy Prevents Cancer Screening for Many Hispanic Patients

by Sarai Rodriguez

A new study out of the Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University presents a snapshot of cancer health literacy, revealing mixed knowledge of cancer adherence screening guidelines that...

Rethinking Alcohol Use Disorder Preventive Screening via Virtual Care

by Sara Heath

New data is showing that preventive screening for alcohol use dropped during COVID-19 surges, despite figures showing that alcohol use increased during the pandemic, prompting some experts to...

Does Cost-Sharing for Screening Result in Missed Cancer Diagnoses?

by Sara Heath

Patients who face cost-sharing and high out-of-pocket healthcare costs for breast cancer screening might not access any applicable follow-up tests they need, according to research published in JAMA...

USPSTF Guidelines Effectively Boost Preventive Screening Access

by Sara Heath

Guidance around preventive screening access works, with new data in the Epic Research showing that colorectal screening rates went up after the USPSTF lowered the age for recommendation. These...

Paid Sick Leave Improves Preventive Screening Rates by Up to 8%

by Sara Heath

A new study out of Tulane University confirms what many may have been able to guess about patient access to care: paid sick leave policies increase preventive screening rates because they give patients...

Pandemic Tanked Cancer Screening Rates, But Cancer Diagnoses Didn’t Rise

by Sara Heath

It’s a well documented fact that cancer screening rates went down during the pandemic, after offices had to defer patient access to preventive screenings to both preserve the medical workforce...

Key Traits of Successful Pediatric Obesity Prevention Programs

by Sara Heath

The most successful pediatric obesity prevention programs take place over a stretch of time and seek to promote both access to more nutritious foods and more exercise, findings that researchers from...

On Cancer Moonshot Anniversary, White House Unveils Patient Navigation Plans

by Sara Heath

On the one-year anniversary of the Cancer Moonshot’s renewal, President Joe Biden has announced plans to support patient navigation, community health, and the cancer patient experience. The...

45% of Women Forego Preventive Care Access, Care Costs a Key Barrier

by Sara Heath

High healthcare costs are keeping nearly half of American women from preventive care access, according to a new Ipsos poll fielded on behalf of the Alliance for Women’s Health and Prevention...

Health Literacy, Care Access Barriers to Cervical Cancer Screening

by Sara Heath

Nearly one in 10 women have never had a common cervical cancer screening, like a Pap test, with issues such as limited health literacy and poor access to care getting in the way, according to a Harris...