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Community-based cancer screening programs in older populations: making progress but can we do better?
Barbara Curbow1, Janice Bowie, Mary A Garza
1Social and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. bcurbow@jhsph.edu
Preventive Medicine
|June 15, 2004
Summary
Community-based programs effectively increase cancer screening rates in older adults. Successful strategies include social networks, lay health workers, and provider assistance, improving early detection.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Public Health
- Cancer Prevention
Background:
- Older adults experience higher cancer incidence.
- Community-based programs are crucial for early cancer detection in this demographic.
- Understanding successful interventions aids future research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify characteristics of successful community-based cancer screening interventions for older adults.
- To inform the development of future cancer prevention strategies.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive literature review of cancer screening interventions.
- Analysis of 114 interventions (pre-2000) and 42 (2000-2003).
- Identification of 17 model interventions effective in older populations.
Main Results:
- Effective strategies include social networks, lay health workers, mass media, community education, reminders, and provider assistance.
- These interventions significantly increased cancer screening rates in older adults.
- Despite successes, some subgroups still have lower screening rates.
Conclusions:
- Community-based interventions can effectively promote cancer screening in older populations.
- Future interventions should evaluate components, integrate theory and community input, target high-need groups, and consider sustainability and cost.
- Continued efforts are needed to address screening disparities in older adults.