Breast cancer screening practices of safety net clinics: Results of a needs assessment study

BMC Women's Health

Research Article

Raquel Samson¹  Maria Triantis¹  Irene D Mullan²  Richard C Palmer³  Anamica Batra³ 

[1] 8757 Georgia Avenue, 10th Floor, 20910, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA;Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, Cancer and Tobacco Initiatives, 1335 Piccard Drive, 20850, Rockville, MD, USA;Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, 11200 SW 8th Street, 33199, Miami, FL, USA;

关键词: Breast Cancer Screening;    Mammography Screening;    Breast Health;    Author Disclosure;    Montgomery County;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1472-6874-11-9

 received in 2010-10-16, accepted in 2011-04-02,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundFor low income and uninsured populations, safety net clinics are an important source of health care, including preventive services such as mammography screening. However, little is known about how well breast health is coordinated within the safety net clinic environment and what barriers patients encounter.MethodsA needs assessment was conducted among eight community-based safety net clinics located in Montgomery County, Maryland to learn about breast cancer referral and screening procedures. Structured in-depth interviews were conducted with clinic staff during the summer of 2008.ResultsSafety net clinics reported that they routinely identified women who need mammography screening and referred women to mammography screening facilities. However, clinics were not aware of the limited number of free or low cost mammography screening slots available in the county or the waiting time to receive mammography services. Overall, screening barriers were common in the safety net system and only a few procedures were in place to help women overcome these barriers.ConclusionSafety net clinics face multiple barriers in providing and coordinating breast cancer screening services for low income or uninsured patients. These barriers prevent the efficient allocation of mammography screening services and prevent underserved women from accessing an important preventive health service.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Palmer et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011