Interventions to reduce cancer screening inequities: the perspective and role of patients, advocacy groups, and empowerment organizations

Abstract

Background Health inequities lead to low rates of cancer screening in certain populations, such as low-income and ethnic minority groups. Different interventions to address this have been developed with mixed results. However, interventions are not always developed in collaboration with the people they target. The aim of our article is to present the viewpoint of patients, survivors, advocates, and lay persons on interventions to increase cancer screening from a health inequity perspective. Methods We prepared talking points to guide discussions between coauthors, who included representatives from nine patient and survivor advocacy groups, organizations working for citizen/patient empowerment, and health equity experts. Perspectives and opinions were first collected through video conferencing meetings and a first draft of the paper was prepared. All authors, read through, revised, and discussed the contents to reach an agreement on the final perspectives to be presented. Results Several themes were identified: it is important to not view screening as a discrete event; barriers underlying an individual’s access and willingness to undergo screening span across a continuum; individually tailored interventions are likely to be more effective than a one-size fits-all approach because they may better accommodate the person’s personal beliefs, knowledge, behaviors, and preferences; targeting people who are unknown to medical services and largely unreachable is a major challenge; including professional patient advocacy groups and relevant lay persons in the cocreation of interventions at all stages of design, implementation, and evaluation is essential along with relevant stakeholders (healthcare professionals, researchers, local government and community organizations etc). Conclusions Interventions to address cancer screening inequity currently do not adequately solve the issue, especially from the viewpoint of patients, survivors, and lay persons. Several core pathways should be focused on when designing and implementing interventions: advancing individually tailored interventions; digital tools and social media; peer-based approaches; empowerment; addressing policy and system barriers; better design of interventions; and collaboration, including the involvement of patients and patient advocacy organizations.

What is the role of institutional quality in health outcomes? A panel data analysis on 158 countries from 2001-2020

“…According to the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Risk Report 2023, climate change is identified as the primary concern for the future of our world [ 42 ]. To evaluate the impact of CO2 emissions on life expectancy and the burden of climate change-related diseases, we examined the relationship between CO2 emissions from fossil fuel consumption and the Infant mortality rate (LIMR).…”

“… Variables Type Description Scale Reference Source LE (Years) Dep The average number of years a person is expected to live, based on statistical data and population demographics. 0–inf [ [10] , [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] , [26] , [27] , [28] , [29] , [30] , [31] , [32] , [33] , [34] , [35] , [36] , [37] , [38] , [39] , [40] , [41] , [42] , [43] , [44] , [45] , [46] , [47] , [48] ] WHO + WB IMR (Per 100,000) Dep Infant mortality rate (IMR) refers to the number of deaths of infants under one year of age per 1000 live births in each population during a specific time period. 0-inf [ [33] , [34] , [35...…”

“… 0–100% [ [10] , [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] , [26] , [27] , [28] , [29] , [30] , [31] , [32] , [33] ] WB CO 2 (Ton) Con CO2 emissions occur through various human activities, primarily related to the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas for energy production, transportation, industrial processes, and other economic activities. 0-inf [ 41 , 42 ] WB Dep: Dependent variables, Indep: independent variables, Con: control variables, WHO: World Health Organization, WB: The World bank, UN: United Nations, inf: Infinity. …”

“…In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) emphasized governance as the primary function of health systems in countries, highlighting the significance of governance and its role within national health systems. Furthermore, the WHO consistently acknowledges the crucial and profound role of governance ND it's quality in healthcare systems, discussing its impact on healthcare goals and outcomes [ [4] , [5] , [6] , [7] , [8] , [9] , [10] , [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] , [26] , [27] , [28] , [29] , [30] , [31] , [32] , [33] , [34] , [35] , [36] , [37] , [38] , [39] , [40] , [41] , [42] , [43] , [44] , [45] , [46] ].…”

The role of peer support and patient navigation for empowerment in breast cancer survivors: implications for community cancer control

“…PN programs, characterized by their informativeness, timeliness, effectiveness, and supportiveness, may be essential in enhancing women's feeling of control over the disease—a key component of successful cancer survivorship. 27 This aligns with the premise that empowerment can boost self-efficacy and, in turn, readies women to actively engage in their healthcare decisions. 28 This is consistent with the conceptual framework of empowerment as outlined by McAllister et al, 11 emphasizing patients as self-determining agents who demonstrate capacity to influence their health outcomes.…”