Johnson Grace, Miquel-Chambers Christopher, Blas Yohancie, Lowery Sylea, Guerra Lucy, Gonzalez Eduardo
University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa, FL, USA.
Department of Internal Medicine, University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa, FL, USA.
J Community Health. 2023 Jun;48(3):501-507. doi: 10.1007/s10900-023-01190-z. Epub 2023 Jan 31.
The COVID-19 pandemic posed a setback to health maintenance screenings worldwide. These delays have impacted minorities and those of low socioeconomic status in the same way that disparities in cancer screenings have historically trended. Here, we evaluated the performance of a student-run free clinic in maintaining women up-to-date with cancer screenings before, during, and after the pandemic in relation to national trends. We identified all women eligible for screening mammography and cervical cancer screenings between 2018 and 2022 at the clinic (N = 185). Adequate adherence to screening was defined according to the American Cancer Society (ACS) recommendations for breast mammography, and the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidelines for cervical cancer screenings. For cervical cancer screening, 166 female patients seen between 2018 and 2022 were eligible, and up-to-date proportions were as follows: 81.3% in 2018; 90.9% in 2019; 83.3% in 2020; 93.3% in 2021; 93.8% in 2022. For breast surveillance, 143 women were eligible for screening mammography, and up-to-date proportions were as follows: 66.7% in 2018; 62.5% in 2019; 91.7% in 2020; 73.1% in 2021; 84.1% in 2022. These proportions were higher than or near national averages.In conclusion, adherence remained steady during the pandemic and was not subject to the declines seen nationally. Our clinic represents an effective model for promoting women's health maintenance and tempering the disparities seen among women of low socioeconomic status.
新冠疫情给全球的健康维护筛查工作带来了挫折。这些延误对少数族裔和社会经济地位较低的人群产生了影响，其方式与癌症筛查方面的差异在历史上的趋势相同。在此，我们评估了一家由学生运营的免费诊所，在疫情之前、期间和之后，使女性癌症筛查跟上最新标准的表现，并与全国趋势进行了对比。我们确定了2018年至2022年期间在该诊所符合筛查性乳腺钼靶检查和宫颈癌筛查条件的所有女性（N = 185）。根据美国癌症协会（ACS）关于乳腺钼靶检查的建议以及美国预防服务工作组（USPSTF）关于宫颈癌筛查的指南，定义了对筛查的充分依从性。对于宫颈癌筛查，2018年至2022年期间就诊的166名女性患者符合条件，最新比例如下：2018年为81.3%；2019年为90.9%；2020年为83.3%；2021年为93.3%；2022年为93.8%。对于乳腺监测，143名女性符合筛查性乳腺钼靶检查条件，最新比例如下：2018年为66.7%；2019年为62.5%；2020年为91.7%；2021年为73.1%；2022年为84.1%。这些比例高于或接近全国平均水平。总之，在疫情期间，依从性保持稳定，并未出现全国范围内的下降情况。我们的诊所是促进女性健康维护以及缓解社会经济地位较低女性之间差异的有效模式。
