Unmet social needs tied to screening mammography use

Women's unmet social needs should be considered to better promote breast cancer screening utilization and early-stage cancer diagnosis, suggest findings published February 13 in JAMA Network Open. Researchers led by Neha Goel, MD, from the University of Miami in Florida found that access to screening mammography did not translate to mammography use and that increasing unmet social needs were tied to lower rates of screening mammography. Also, women with high levels of unmet social needs were more likely to present with late-stage breast disease. “This novel research is important as diagnosis at a later stage significantly affects survival outcomes, and interventions that promote stage-shifting are critical,” Goel and colleagues wrote. While breast cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment have improved over the decades, health disparities persist in terms of mortality. One reason for this is that women living in disadvantaged neighborhoods continue to present with later-stage breast cancer. Social detriments of health have been explored for their role in contributing to health disparities. The researchers noted that unmet social needs are downstream mediators of social detriments that are often more within reach for health systems and physicians to address in their patients. These include housing instability, social isolation, food insecurity, and transportation challenges, among others. However, the researchers also pointed out that there is a knowledge gap evaluat...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Womens Imaging Source Type: news