Identifying Interventions to Reduce Breast Cancer Screening Barriers using Community Centered Prioritization...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Disparities Research
• Community-Based Participatory Research

Background:

• Mammography screening is crucial for early breast cancer detection.
• Disparities in screening rates persist among low-income and diverse populations.
• Patient and community-centered approaches are needed to address these disparities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To utilize PICK charts (Prioritization, Intervention, Cost, and Effort) with a diverse community advisory group.
• To identify and prioritize patient- and community-centered interventions aimed at reducing mammography screening disparities.
• To inform strategies for improving cancer screening in medically underserved populations.

Main Methods:

• A diverse community advisory group (n=22) from low-income neighborhoods participated.
• Structured brainstorming sessions generated 52 unique intervention ideas across 7 domains.
• PICK chart prioritization exercises were conducted to identify high-impact, low-effort interventions.

Main Results:

• Top-prioritized interventions included reminders, sharing positive mammography experiences, providing reassurance, and reducing co-pays.
• These interventions were identified as high impact and low effort by the community group.
• The process yielded contextually relevant strategies for improving screening.

Conclusions:

• Community-centered prioritization exercises effectively identify relevant interventions for reducing screening disparities.
• Addressing cost and improving communication are key patient-centered strategies.
• These findings can guide efforts to increase mammography screening in underserved communities.