U.S. federally qualified health centers show cancer screening gaps

U.S. federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) -- intended to provide care to underserved populations across the country -- show prominent cancer screening gaps, researchers have reported. A team led by Trisha Amboree, PhD, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston found that the cancer screening gap manifested at FQHCs -- for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer -- contributes significantly to the percentage of underscreened individuals across the country. The study findings were published April 29 in JAMA Internal Medicine. "[Our] findings highlight the urgency of scaling up screening use in FQHCs," the group wrote. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends age-based screening in the average-risk general population for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers, but "screening use remains suboptimal, particularly among uninsured, medically underserved, and racially and ethnically minoritized populations," the group noted. These populations often receive health care services, including cancer screening, from safety-net settings that provide care at low cost or on a sliding scale based on individuals’ ability to pay," the team wrote. "Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) are important safety nets that provide health services to roughly 30 million people in the U.S. [and] play a critical role in providing cancer prevention services including breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screenings. However, financial constraints,...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Breast Breast Imaging Source Type: news