What to know
With support from CDC, a program that serves American Indian and Alaska Native women increased breast cancer screening by 20% and cervical cancer screening by 110% in a single year.
Overview
The South Puget Intertribal Planning Agency in Washington offers programs to support the health of tribal communities. This includes the Native Women's Wellness Program, which provides breast and cervical cancer screening for American Indian and Alaska Native women through five tribal health clinics. These efforts are supported by funding from CDC's National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.
Staff in the health clinics identified a problem with their health records. Many did not have correct information about patients' cancer screening status. Too often, patient navigators were calling patients to remind them about screenings they weren't eligible for or that they had already received.
Patient information was updated
A quality assurance advisor worked with clinic staff to improve their patient reminder processes for breast and cervical cancer screening. First, the staff corrected their patient health records. This allowed the Native Women's Wellness Program to send correct lists of patients who needed cancer screening to the clinics each month.
Patient navigators could then identify women who were due for breast and cervical cancer screening and get them scheduled.
Many more women got screened
As a result of these efforts, the Native Women's Wellness Program reported a 25% increase in women receiving at least one cancer screening. From July 2022 to June 2023, the program provided 331 mammograms and 120 cervical cancer screenings. Breast cancer screenings increased by 20% and cervical cancer screenings increased by 110% compared to the previous year.
The program will continue to provide monthly patient reminder reports and work with the clinics to keep patient information up to date.
