2020 Cancer Screening Rates Low at Federally Qualified Health Centers

FRIDAY, May 3, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- In 2020, there were major gaps in screening clients at federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) for various types of cancer when compared with the general population, according to a study published online April 29 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Trisha L. Amboree, Ph.D., from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and colleagues described national- and state-level breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening use among individuals served by U.S. FQHCs. The analysis included data from 1,364 FQHCs self-reported to the FQHC Uniform Data System during 2020 (roughly 16.7 million U.S. adults).

The researchers found that nationally, screening use in FQHCs was 45.4 percent for breast cancer, 51.0 percent for cervical cancer, and 40.2 percent for colorectal cancer compared with 78.2, 82.9, and 72.3 percent, respectively, for the general population. The population of underscreened people served by FQHCs contributed 16.9 percent to the national underscreened general population for breast cancer, 29.7 percent for cervical cancer, and 14.7 percent for colorectal cancer.

"Future policies and resource allocation would be important to improve cancer screening services for medically underserved populations," the authors write. "Specifically, data from this study point to the need to improve FQHC capacities through systematic implementation efforts to help address the unmet cancer screening needs in the U.S. population.”

Two authors disclosed ties Value Analytics Labs.

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