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Chart of the Day: Disparities in Breast Cancer Treatment Initiation Among Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Groups
Empowering clinical professionals to provide higher value cancer care
LDI Senior Fellow Shivan J. Mehta conducted a randomized clinical trial on how to improve mammogram completion rates through direct patient outreach. Mehta and his team tested the strategies of text messaging and bulk ordering, “a practice in which every eligible patient receives a doctor’s order for the screening, as opposed to the traditional method in which a patient receives an order after seeing their doctor.”
The study found that both the text message intervention and bulk ordering of tests increased breast cancer screening rates. For the text message intervention, 15.1% of people completed screening, compared to only 13% without the intervention. Similarly, for the bulk ordering, 15.4% with the intervention completed screening, compared to 12.7% without.
Screening for breast cancer, a leading cause of cancer death in women, is recommended every two years for women ages 40 to 74. The numbers are falling short of the Healthy People 2030 goals, which aim to increase the percentage of women who get screened for breast cancer from 75.6% to 80% by 2021. These nudges provide valuable insights to improve breast cancer screening rates.
The study, “Behavioral interventions to improve breast cancer screening outreach: two randomized clinical trials,” was published May 6, 2024, in JAMA Internal MedicineAuthors include Shivan J. Mehta, Corinne Rhodes, Kristin A. Linn, Catherine Reitz, Caitlin McDonald, Evelyn Okorie, Keyirah Williams, David Resnik, Annamaria Arostegui, Timothy McAuliffe, Colin Wollack, Christopher K. Snider, MaryAnne K. Peifer, and Susan P. Weinstein.
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