Abstract 5018: Adherence to free breast cancer screening among uninsured black and Hispanic women

Abstract

Abstract Background: Studies have shown that blacks have a higher mortality rate from breast cancer. However, it is unclear if this can be mainly attributed to their different biological susceptibilities or lower health care access or lack of adherence to scheduled procedures such as screenings and treatments or a combination of everything. Aim: We sought to examine the extent to which uninsured black and Hispanic women adhere to free breast cancer screening appointments. Methods: This study included a cohort of 410 participants from a monthly program in Howard University Cancer Center that offers free breast cancer screening (clinical breast examination and mammogram) for uninsured women who are aged 40 and older in the Washington DC area. These participants were referred from community health organizations in Maryland, District of Columbia and Maryland. Data was extracted from July 2009 to June 2010. The participants were categorized as non-adherent (no shows) if they did not cancel their appointments and did not show up for the breast cancer screening. We used Poisson regression models to evaluate the association of race with adherence to the scheduled breast cancer screening and adjusted for potential confounders. We calculated Relative Risks (RR) for no shows and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI). Results: There were 195 (47.6%) Hispanic and 215 (52.4%) black women. A total of 314 (76.6%) women showed up for screening but 96 (23.4%) were non-adherent. When compared with Hispanic women, black women were older (mean age = 50.7 years vs 48.4 years; P = 0.0005), and more likely to be born in the United States (29% vs 2%; P < 0.0001) but were less likely to be married (31% vs 49%; P < 0.0001). A total of 42 (21.6%) Hispanic and 54 (25.1%) black women did not show up for the breast cancer screening, adjusted RR = 1.06: 95% CI: 0.71 – 1.57; P = 0.788. Conclusions: There is a high rate of non-adherence to scheduled free breast cancer screening among underserved black and Hispanic women. Increased outreach effort and community education about this potentially preventable cancer is needed. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5018. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-5018