Purpose: Increased utilization of screening mammograms and improvement in breast cancer treatments have led to an overall reduction in breast cancer mortality in the United States. Despite this decline, there continues to be racial disparities in breast cancer morbidity and mortality. This study aims to describe one center’s experience on the impact of community outreach efforts to increase underrepresented minority group participation in screening mammography.
Materials and Methods: From 2017-2019, multiple outreach initiatives and partnerships were made to various cultural groups, congregations, and community centers in the Philadelphia area to promote and advocate for annual screening mammography. In addition, in-person translational services were improved in the mammography department. The number of screening mammograms performed at the study institution from 2016-2019 stratified by race and ethnicity were examined with a Chi-squared test to detect significant changes between the years.
Results: The total number of mammograms performed annually increased from 15,738 in 2016 to 17,310 in 2019. There was a significant increase in proportion of self-identified Asian patients receiving screening mammogram in 2016 (3.5%, n=545) to 2019 (4.3%, n=740) and Hispanic patients in 2016 (3.4%, n= 532) to 2019 (4.1%, n=702) (p < 0.001). There was no difference in number of screening mammograms of patients who self-identified as Black from 2016 to 2019.
Conclusion: Our results show that community outreach initiatives, partnerships with local organizations, and providing effective translation services may be a reasonable strategy to increase participation in screening mammography by minority group women. While there was a significant increase in screening mammograms performed on patients who self-identified as Asian and Hispanic, there was no difference among patients who self-identified as Black. Our findings suggest that there may be additional barriers for this population or perhaps alternative and/or system-driven strategies may be needed to increase participation in screening mammography.
Clinical Relevance Statement: Community outreach initiatives, partnerships with local organizations, and providing effective translation services may be a reasonable strategy to increase participation in screening mammography by minority group women.
