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Guarding Against Breast Cancer
Guarding Against Breast Cancer
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Guarding
Against Breast Cancer
QIOs
around the nation are
involved in dozens
of cooperative, community
based-efforts to increase
mammography rates:
- The
Arkansas Foundation
for Medical Care,
the Arkansas QIO,
has held a series
of health fairs in
counties with the
lowest rates of mammography
among African American
women. The health
fairs are held in
partnership with
the Witness Project,
a church-based education
program that aims
to enhance awareness
and knowledge of
breast and cervical
cancer, and increase
screening and early
detection behaviors
among low-income,
rural, African-American
women. The project
supports the efforts
of a team of African
American breast and
cervical cancer survivors
who "witness"
their friends and
neighbors in small
group sessions, ranging
in size from 2-25
women. Women who
participated in the
baseline Witness
program demonstrated
significant increases
in mammography compared
to a control group.
Results show that
among those who received
the intervention,
women who normally
did not get mammograms,
an average of 23.6%
sought and received
a mammogram in the
6-month period following
the intervention.
- Quality
Insights of Delaware,
the Delaware QIO,
has worked to educate
opinion leaders and
raise awareness about
mammography among
African-American
women. Through a
local coalition,
called Mature African
Americans for Mammography
(MAAM) the QIO invites
community members
to educational meetings
and asks them to
share information
with family, friends,
and others. The MAAM
Coalition has reached
as many as 3,000
women resulting in
nearly 350 new mammography
screenings. In addition,
the program helped
increase the number
of mammograms received
by African American
senior women from
40% in 1998 to 45%
in 2000.
- The
Mountain-Pacific
Quality Health Foundation,
the QIO for Montana,
Wyoming and Hawaii,
made great strides
in raising mammography
rates by using a
variety of interventions
and establishing
partnerships with
breast cancer awareness
groups. Creating
partnerships has
resulted in higher
breast cancer awareness
and has increased
Montana’s rates of
mammography screening
by six percentage
points from 1997-1998
to 1999-2000. A similar
effort in Wyoming
resulted in a 6.5
percentage point
increase over the
same time period.
- The
New Mexico Medical
Review Association
developed the
Beads Project as
a patient-friendly
intervention for
use as a teaching
tool during patient
visits. The tool
consists of a set
of beads that depict
the average size
of breast lumps discovered
through a combination
of various early
detection methods
(breast self-exam,
clinical breast exam
and mammography)
as compared to the
size of breast lump
found when none of
the early detection
methods is employed.
A bilingual (English
and Spanish) poster
that illustrates
various breast-lump
sizes accompanies
the bead set and
hangs in patient
exam rooms. This
intervention combines
the powerful images
of the breast beads
with the opportunity
for patient-physician
discussion and physician
referral. In one
Beads Project site,
documented mammograms
increased from 40%-67%
during the interventions
period.
- Health
Care Excel, the
Kentucky QIO, developed
statewide strategies
in conjunction with
the Kentucky Breast
Cancer Task Force
and Kentucky Breast
Cancer Coalition
to help improve mammography
rates in the state.
From the baseline
period of 1997-1998
to the remeasurement
period of October
1999-September 2001,
rates for non-HMO
female Medicare beneficiaries
with biennial mammography
services increased
statewide, from 52.8%
to 58.6%.
- Lumetra
developed materials
about mammography
that speak to Asian
Pacific Islander
women who suffer
high rates of breast
cancer. Lumetra and
its partner organizations
developed multi-lingual,
culturally appropriate
patient materials,
translated into Chinese,
Tagalog, and Vietnamese
because one-third
of the population
is not proficient
in English. As a
result of this project,
the National Cancer
Institute and the
Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services
have implemented
a nationwide rollout
of the Lumetra breast
cancer materials
for the Asian Pacific
Islander (API) community.
Lumetra also has worked
with Medicare+Choice
organizations throughout
the state to address
breast cancer screening.
Lumetra developed an
extensive Breast
Cancer Screening
Toolkit and distributed
it to all M+C organizations.
Information and helpful
hints were included
in the Toolkit to
assist in customizing
an outreach program
to specific populations.
- Primaris
joined with the
American Cancer Society
and the Breast and
Cervical Cancer Control
Program, to develop
a 2002 Mother’s Day
Campaign to raise
awareness about the
value of mammography
screening. Sixty-four
mammography centers
statewide implemented
the campaign. With
corporate partners,
Primaris also
mailed mammography
reminder notices
to 4,000 Medicare
women who had not
received a mammogram,
advising them of
the availability
of the van in their
neighborhood. In
addition, almost
200 clinics and physician
offices now use Primaris’s
mammography recall
system. Statewide,
2,588 more women
aged 50-69 received
a mammogram than
two years previously.
- The
Colorado Foundation
for Medical Care
found that in some
areas in Colorado
the mammography rate
for Latinas can be
as much as 26% lower
than the state rate.
To decrease this
disparity, CFMC partners
with Colorado's Catholic
churches to deliver
culturally-sensitive
messages on mammography.
Over 85% of Catholic
churches are participating
in this collaboration
by displaying bilingual
educational materials
and publishing messages
in church bulletins.
Priests actively
support the project
by making announcements
from the pulpit.
Promotoras (health
educators) from a
health care clinic
that provides free
care to persons without
insurance, have contracted
with CFMC to provide
education on the
importance of mammograms
in Denver neighborhoods
surrounding four
predominantly Latino
churches.
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