The program did not seem to influence the students' specialty choices, because students interested in participating--regardless of whether they actually participated--were more likely to match with primary care specialties and were more likely to be women.
Background. The American Cancer Society has sponsored community‐based, low‐cost, Breast Cancer Detection Awareness Projects throughout the United States. The authors hypothesized that these projects tend to exclude minorities and women of lower socioeconomic status—groups with a higher incidence of late‐stage disease.
Methods. A cross‐sectional survey was performed of participants in the 1990 Breast Screening Project in Tampa, Florida. The demographic profile of participants was compared with that predicted by 1990 census data.
Results. There were 13,920 women who called phone banks for additional information. Of these, 13,215 were deemed eligible and 6640 completed mammo‐graphic screening. Forty percent of participants were having mammography for the first time. Comparisons with census data indicated that elderly people, members of minority groups, and women of lower educational levels were underrepresented.
Conclusions. The results of this study support the concept that “reverse targeting” occurs with these breast cancer screening projects, and recommendations for recruiting underrepresented groups are given.
Background. Americans visit their primary care physicians several times a year. These visits provide physicians with many opportunities to reduce cancer risk in their patients by recommending periodic cancer screening. There is evidence of noncompliance among primary care physicians and their patients with regard to periodic cancer screening. Barriers to screening may be perceived by physicians and patients.
Results. The authors found that when physicians recommended cancer screening tests, the compliance among patients was relatively high.
Conclusion. Primary care physicians can take the opportunity to recommend cancer screening tests during routine patient visits, and this strategy may well increase cancer screening rates in the population.
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