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Health disparities are when people have worse health outcomes because of economic, 社会, 文化, 环境, 或者地理原因. Access to care is just one example of a health disparity many people face.
In Utah, more than 96% of the l和 is considered rural, with fewer than 100 people per square mile. More than 330,000 Utahns live in these areas. Rural residents are less likely to get cancer, but they are 10% more likely to die from it compared to residents of urban areas.
We know the health needs of our community don’t stop at the walls of 亨茨曼癌症研究所 main campus. 大发娱乐的 社区外展 和 订婚 teams are dedicated to building ongoing partnerships to improve community health 和 reduce cancer health disparities throughout Utah 和 across the Mountain West.
One such partner is University of Utah Health’s 斯坦斯伯里健康中心 in Tooele County, 40 miles west of 亨茨曼癌症研究所 main campus. This clinic provides a number of critical patient care services to their community. And through a partnership with 亨茨曼癌症研究所, 乳房 和 结直肠癌筛查 病人都可以使用.
亨茨曼癌症研究所 癌症普查及教育巴士 began visiting the 斯坦斯伯里健康中心 in fall 2019. Equipped with the latest 3D mammography technology, the bus provides 乳房 cancer screening services to rural patients who would otherwise have to travel to the Wasatch Front to be screened.
在斯坦斯伯里健康中心, 95 cases of 乳房 cancer have been detected through mammograms performed on the bus. 病人 were referred to 亨茨曼癌症研究所 for follow-up care.
“We have been providing care in this community for more than 25 years,” says Ali Salari， DO, medical director of the 斯坦斯伯里健康中心. “大发娱乐的 partnership with 亨茨曼癌症研究所 has allowed us to improve our care delivery in Tooele County by providing convenient 乳房 和 colorectal cancer screening without the need for residents to leave the county.” Salari emphasizes that the partnership has led to “increased access to screening 和 early detection of cancer.”
Education is a vital tool to address health disparities. Learning how to prevent 和 screen for cancer allows patients to take charge of their own health 和 encourage loved ones to do the same.
To address the need for colorectal cancer screening, 亨茨曼癌症研究所 implemented the 屏幕保存计划, 哪个侧重于改善教育, 早期筛查率, 和 health outcomes for people aged 45–75 in rural areas. The program provides patients who need colorectal cancer screening the option to take an online education module 和 then receive an at-home colorectal cancer screening test via mail.
“Education is a vital tool to address health disparities,” says 纳撒尼尔·费雷, a 社区健康教育者. “Learning how to prevent 和 screen for cancer allows patients to take charge of their own health 和 encourage loved ones to do the same. Ensuring the education tools we create are easy to underst和, 有多种语言版本, 并以可访问的格式交付, helps support a healthier 和 more informed community.”
Ferre developed an education module that is given to 斯坦斯伯里健康中心 patients who are due for colorectal cancer screening. After patients complete the education module, they receive a free take-home colorectal cancer screening test. The test is done at home 和 returned in a prepaid mailing envelope for processing. If the patient receives a positive result, Ferre works with the health care provider to schedule a colonoscopy at 亨茨曼癌症研究所 or another University of Utah Health community clinic.
“More than half of the patients who complete the module have never been screened for colorectal cancer,费雷说。. “在项目的第一年, more than 150 patients completed the education module 和 137 were eligible for at-home colorectal cancer screening.” With a 筛查依从率 of 76%, 远高于全国平均水平, 要保存的屏幕 is demonstrating a major impact. 费雷补充道, “When people learn why [through the education module] they are being asked to do something, they are more likely to see the value 和 take action.”
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76%
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要保存的屏幕
筛查依从率 |
These two programs exemplify how 亨茨曼癌症研究所 strives to address health access barriers. By bringing mammography services closer to people’s homes 和 providing at home screening options for colorectal cancer, we are educating about the importance of cancer screenings 和 early detection, as well as improving the health 和 well-being of all residents—from big city to small town.