Predictors of timely follow-up after abnormal cancer screening among women seeking care at urban community health centers
Authors
Battaglia, Tracy A.Santana, M. Christina
Bak, Sharon
Gokhale, Manjusha
Lash, Timothy L.
Ash, Arlene S.
Kalish, Richard
Tringale, Stephen
Taylor, James O.
Freund, Karen M.
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Quantitative Health SciencesDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2010-01-07Keywords
AdolescentAdult
Aged
Breast Neoplasms
Community Health Centers
*Continuity of Patient Care
*Early Detection of Cancer
Ethnic Groups
Female
Health Behavior
Healthcare Disparities
Humans
Mammography
Massachusetts
Middle Aged
Socioeconomic Factors
Urban Population
Uterine Cervical Neoplasms
Vaginal Smears
Young Adult
Biostatistics
Epidemiology
Health Services Research
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
BACKGROUND: We sought to measure time and identify predictors of timely follow-up among a cohort of racially/ethnically diverse inner city women with breast and cervical cancer screening abnormalities. METHODS: Eligible women had an abnormality detected on a mammogram or Papanicolaou (Pap) test between January 2004 and December 2005 in 1 of 6 community health centers in Boston, Massachusetts. Retrospective chart review allowed us to measure time to diagnostic resolution. We used Cox proportional hazards models to develop predictive models for timely resolution (defined as definitive diagnostic services completed within 180 days from index abnormality). RESULTS: Among 523 women with mammography abnormalities and 474 women with Pap test abnormalities, >90% achieved diagnostic resolution within 12 months. Median time to resolution was longer for Pap test than for mammography abnormalities (85 vs 27 days). Site of care, rather than any sociodemographic characteristic of individuals, including race/ethnicity, was the only significant predictor of timely follow-up for both mammogram and Pap test abnormalities. CONCLUSIONS: Site-specific community-based interventions may be the most effective interventions to reduce cancer health disparities when addressing the needs of underserved populations.Source
Cancer. 2010 Feb 15;116(4):913-21. Link to article on publisher's siteDOI
10.1002/cncr.24851Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/47616PubMed ID
20052731Related Resources
Link to Article in PubMedae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1002/cncr.24851