Abstract Background: Cancer screening in rural areas is hampered by numerous barriers; among these are systemic factors such as access to care in the rural area, lack of culturally appropriate physicians, and lack of screening systems. These barriers are often accompanied by structural impediments such as lack of transportation to distant clinics and screening settings, lack of child care, and inconvenient times for appointments. New and innovative approaches to dealing with rural populations are needed to overcome some of these barriers. In Eastern Washington State, the many rural areas are served by a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) system. A number of their clinics are spread throughout the region, and we collaborated with them to work on two innovative cancer prevention strategies in the rural area. Methods: Using a giant inflatable colon, we brought fecal occult blood test (FOBT) kits to 300 individuals who were over the age of 50 at regularly scheduled health fairs in the area. Individuals went through a brief educational tour of the colon, then received the kits, which were returned to us via mail or drop-off. A local hospital analyzed the kits and results were returned to participants. In a second study, women who were nonadherent with Pap testing were identified by the FQHC; after HIPAA consent, they were randomized to receive one of three intervention arms: a usual care arm, a video arm, or a promotora outreach arm. Adherence after seven months was assessed via medical records. Results: For the colon study, we received a return rate of 75.6%. Of these, seven were abnormal and those participants received free or low-cost colonoscopies. For the cervical cancer study, the rates of adherence after seven months were 34% (usual care), 38.7% (video arm), and 53.4% (promotora outreach). In both studies, knowledge and intention to be screened were significantly increased. Discussion: Rural areas suffer unique barriers to obtaining cancer prevention screening. Our approach of “meet the people where they are” has been positive in increasing screening rates. Whether it is participation at local community health fairs or collaboration with an FQHC, it is clear that “going to the people” is a method that works. More emphasis should be put on such methods in rural areas. Citation Format: Beti Thompson, Elizabeth Carosso, Kathy Briant, Genoveva Ibarra. Overcoming barriers to screening in rural areas: No bus, no taxi, no services [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Tenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2017 Sep 25-28; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2018;27(7 Suppl):Abstract nr IA29.
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