Abstract
Racial/ethnic disparities in cancer outcomes have been well documented. Access to Pap testing may account for some of the variation in the racial and socioeconomic differences in cervical cancer outcomes. Literature exploring perceived access to care as it relates to women of color and low-income women is lacking. The goal of the study was to evaluate and characterize the relationship between what respondents believe about access to free/low-cost screening facilities and screening behaviors among low-income women in New Jersey. We used multivariate logistic regression to investigate belief about access to affordable screening on cancer screening behaviors using data from a cross-sectional study of low-income women in New Jersey (n = 430). Having had a Pap test in the past 3 years was inversely associated with age (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.92–0.97) and was positively associated with having had insurance in the previous 2 years (OR 32.48. 95% CI 1.04–5.91), higher perceived risk of cervical cancer (OR 2.59, 95% CI 1.29–5.66), and knowing where to go to get a check-up that includes a cancer test (OR 1.97, 95% CI 1.11–3.49). These results suggest that insurance status continues to be a predictor of screening behavior but also that perceived risk awareness of where to go to get cancer screenings in general may influence the likelihood of utilizing screening, which can be important in developing targeted prevention strategies.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cronin KA, Lake A, Scott S, Sherman R, Noone AM, Howlander N, Henley SJ, Andersen R, Firth R, Ma J, Kohler BA, Jemal A (2018) Annual report to the nation on the status of cancer, part I: national cancer statistics. Cancer 124(13):2785–2800
Siegel R, Miller KD, Jemal A (2016) Cancer statistics, 2016. CA Cancer J Clin 66:7–30
Siegel R, Fedewa SA, Miller KD, Goding-Sauer A, Pinheiro PS, Martinez-Tyson D, Jemal A (2015) Cancer statistics for Hispanics/Latinos, 2015. CA Cancer J Clin 65:457–480
Siegel R, Miller KD, Jemal A (2018) Cancer statistics 2018. CA Cancer J Clin 68(1):7–30
American Cancer Society (2009) Cancer facts & figures for Hispanics/Latinos, 2009–2011. American Cancer Society, Atlanta
American Cancer Society (2011) Cancer facts & figures, 2011. American Cancer Society, Atlanta
American Cancer Society (2016) Cancer facts & figures 2016. American Cancer Society, Atlanta
Henley SJ, King JB, German RR, Richardson LC, Plescia M, Centers for Disease Control, and Prevention (2010) Surveillance of screening-detected cancers (colon and rectum, breast, and cervix)—United States, 2004–2006. MMWR Surveill Summ 59(9):1–25
Howe HL, Wu X, Ries LAG, Cokkinides V, Ahmed F, Jemal A, Miller B, Williams M, Ward E, Wingo PA, Ramirez A, Edwards BK (2006) Annual report to the nation on the status of cancer, 1975–2003, featuring cancer among U.S. Hispanic/Latino populations. Cancer 107:1711–1742
American Cancer Society (2013) Cancer facts & figures for African Americans 2013–2014. American Cancer Society, Atlanta
Edwards BK, Ward E, Kohler BA, Eheman C, Zauber AG, Anderson RN, Jemal A, Schymura MJ, Lansdorp-Vogelaar I, Seeff LC, van Ballegooijen M, Goede SL, Ries LAG (2009) Annual report to the nation on the status of cancer, 1975–2006, featuring colorectal cancer trends and impact of interventions (risk factors, screening, and treatment) to reduce future rates. Cancer 116(3):544–573
Jones BA, Liu WL, Araujo AB, Kasl SV, Silvera SN, Soler-Vila H, Curnen MGM, Dubrow R (2009) Explaining the race difference in prostate cancer stage at diagnosis. Cancer Epidemiol Biomark Prev 17(10):2825–2834
Ward E, Jemal A, Cokkinides V, Singh GK, Cardinez C, Ghafoor A, Thun MJ (2004) Cancer disparities by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. CA Cancer J Clin 54:78–93
Freeman H, Wingrove B (2005) Excess Cervical Cancer Mortality: A Marker for Low Access to Health Care in Poor Communities. National Cancer Institution Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities, Rockville
National Cancer Institute (2008) Cancer health disparities fact sheet. https://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/research-results/disparities. Accessed 5 June 2010
Pickle LW, Su Y (2002) Within-state geographic patterns of health insurance coverage and health risk factors in the United States. Am J Prev Med 22:75–83
American Cancer Society (2015) Cancder facts & figures for African Americans, 2015–2016. American Cancer Society, Atlanta
Akerson K, Gretebeck K (2007) Factors influencing cancer screening practices of underserved women. J Am Acad Nurse Pract 19(11):591–601
Charney P (2006) Access to cervical cancer screening: training internists so skill limitations are not a barrier to care. J Womens Health 15(8):977–980
Daley E, Alio A, Anstey E, Chandler R, Dyer K, Helmy H (2011) Examining barriers to cervical cancer screening and treatment in Florida through a socio-ecological lens. J Commun Health 36(1):121–131
Sabatino SA, White MC, Thompson TD, Klabunde CN (2015) cancer screening test use—United States, 2013. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 64(17):464–468
National Center for Health Statistics (2016) Health, United States 2015: with special feature on racial and ethnic health disparities. National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville
Clark CR, Baril N, Kunicki M, Johnson N, Soukup J, Ferguson K, Lipsitz S, Bigby J, Coalition RBaCC, (2009) Addressing social determinants of health to improve access to early breast cancer detection: results of the Boston REACH 2010 breast and cervical cancer coalition women's health demonstration project. J Womens Health 18(5):677–690
Ayanian JZ, Weissman JS, Schneider EC, Ginsburg JA, Zaslavsky AM (2004) Unmet health needs of uninsured adults in the United States. JAMA 284:2061–2069
Bolen JC, Rhodes L, Powell-Griner EE, Bland SD, Holtzman D (2000) State-specific prevalence of selected health behaviors, by race and ethnicity. Behavioral risk factor surveillance system, 1997. Mor Mortal Wkly Rep, CDC Surveill Summ 49:1–60
Coughlin SS, Uhler RJ (2000) Breast and cervical cancer screening practices among Asian and Pacific Islander women in the United States, 1994–1997. Cancer Epidemiol Biomark Prev 9:115–130
Simoes EJ, Newschaffer CJ, Hagdrup N, Ali-Abarghoui F, Tao X, Mack N, Brownson RC (1999) Predictors of compliance with recommended cervical cancer screening schedule: a population-based study. J Commun Health 24:115–130
Chowdhury PP, Mawokomatanda T, Xu F, Gamble S, Flegel D, Pierannunzi C, Garvin M, Town M (2016) Surveillance for certain health behaviors, chronic diseases, and conditions, access to health care, and use of preventive health services among states and selected local areas—behavioral risk factor surveillance system, United States, 2012. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 65(4):1–142
Culica D, Rohrer J, Ward M, Hilsenrath P, Pomrehn P (2002) Medical checkups: who does not get them? Am J Public Health 92:88–91
Smith RA, Cokkinides V, Brooks D, Saslow D, Shah M, Brawley OW (2011) Cancer screening in the United States, 2011: a review of current american cancer society guidelines and issues in cancer screening. CA Cancer J Clin 61:8–30
American Cancer Society (2016) American Cancer Society Guidelines for the Early Detection of Cancer. https://www.cancer.org/healthy/find-cancer-early/cancer-screening-guidelines/american-cancer-society-guidelines-for-the-early-detection-of-cancer.html. Accessed Dec 2016
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016) CDC, Health United States Report 2016. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus16.pdf-071
Moore de Peralta A, Holaday B, McDonell JR (2015) Factors affecting Hispanic women’s participation in screening for cervical cancer. J Immigr Minor Health 17(3):684–695
Selvin E, Brett KM (2003) Breast and cervical cancer screening: sociodemographic predictors among White, Black, and Hispanic women. Am J Public Health 93:613–623
Facione NC, Miaskowski C, Dodd MJ, Paul SM (2002) The self-reported likelihood of patient delay in breast cancer: new thoughts for early detection. Prev Med 34:397–407
Shavers VL, Shankar S, Alberg A (2002) Perceived access to health care and its influence on the prevalence of behavioral risks among urban African Americans. J Natl Med Assoc 94:952–962
Acknowledgments
This work is supported by Grant 1K01CA157690-01A1 from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethical approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Silvera, S.A.N., Bandera, E.V., Jones, B.A. et al. Knowledge of, and beliefs about, access to screening facilities and cervical cancer screening behaviors among low-income women in New Jersey. Cancer Causes Control 31, 43–49 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-019-01244-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-019-01244-5