scholarly journals Tailored telephone counseling to improve adherence to follow-up regimens after an abnormal pap smear among minority, underserved women

2013 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 488-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne M. Miller ◽  
Siu-kuen Azor Hui ◽  
Kuang-Yi Wen ◽  
John Scarpato ◽  
Fang Zhu ◽  
...  
2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tegan Dutton ◽  
Wendy Stevens ◽  
Jamie Newman

This study aimed to document the types, management and follow up of health issues identified by all Aboriginal Health Assessments (AHA) performed at Orange Aboriginal Medical Service from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2012. This was done with a retrospective audit of clinical records. In total, 1169 AHAs were performed: 41% child, 53% adult and 6% older person AHAs. Newly identified health issues were documented in 85% (984). Being overweight (41%; 476) and smoking (26%; 301) were the common risk factors identified. As a result of the AHA, most children who were not up-to-date with their vaccinations received catch-up immunisations; 11% (36) of adult women (n=314) received a Pap smear, although Pap smear status was unknown or not up-to-date for 61% (192); 27% (311) of cases were prescribed new medication; and 1239 referrals were made but only 40% were attended. At 6 months following the AHA, 26% (240) of cases with newly identified health issues were completely managed and followed up, whereas 25% (226) received no follow up. The AHAs are useful for identifying new health issues; however, follow up of the identified health issues should be improved. If AHAs are to improve health outcomes, appropriate management and follow up of the identified health issues are essential.


1995 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 211-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Bowman ◽  
Rob Sanson-Fisher ◽  
Catherine Boyle ◽  
Stephanie Pope ◽  
Sally Redman

Objective – To assess the comparative efficacy, by randomised controlled trial, of three interventions designed to encourage “at risk” women to have a Pap smear: an educational pamphlet; letters inviting attendance at a women's health clinic; and letters from physicians. Methods – Subjects at risk for cervical cancer who had not been adequately screened were identified by a random community survey and randomly allocated to one of the intervention groups or a control group. Six months after intervention implementation, a follow up survey assessed subsequent screening attendance. Self report was validated by comparison with a national screening data base. Results – A significantly greater proportion of women (36.9%) within the group receiving a physician letter reported screening at follow up than in any other group (P =0.012). The variables most strongly predicting screening attendance were: age, perceived frequency of screening required, use of oral contraceptives, and allocation to receive the physician letter intervention. Conclusions – The relative efficacy of the GP letter in prompting screening attendance shows that this strategy is worthy of further investigation. There remains a need to examine the barriers to screening for older women, and to develop tailored strategies for this population.


Author(s):  
Matthew Asare ◽  
Beth A. Lanning ◽  
Sher Isada ◽  
Tiffany Rose ◽  
Hadii M. Mamudu

Background: Social media (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter) as communication channels have great potential to deliver Human papillomavirus self-test (HPVST) intervention to medically underserved women (MUW) such as women of low income. However, little is known about MUW’s willingness to participate in HPVST intervention delivered through social media. We evaluated factors that contribute to MUW’s intention to participate in the social media-related intervention for HPVST. Methods: A 21-item survey was administered among women receiving food from a local food pantry in a U.S. southern state. Independent variables were social media usage facilitators (including confidentiality, social support, cost, and convenience), and barriers (including misinformation, time-consuming, inefficient, and privacy concerns). Dependent variables included the likelihood of participating in social-driven intervention for HPVST. Both variables were measured on a 5-point scale. We used multinomial logistic regression to analyze the data. Results: A total of 254 women (mean age 48.9 ± 10.7 years) comprising Whites (40%), Hispanics (29%), Blacks (27%), and Other (4%) participated in the study. We found that over 44% of the women were overdue for their pap smears for the past three years, 12% had never had a pap smear, and 34% were not sure if they had had a pap smear. Over 82% reported frequent social media (e.g., Facebook) usage, and 52% reported willingness to participate in social media-driven intervention for HPVST. Women who reported that social media provide privacy (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 6.23, 95% CI: 3.56, 10.92), provide social support (AOR = 7.18, 95% CI: 4.03, 12.80), are less costly (AOR = 6.71, 95% CI: 3.80, 11.85), and are convenient (AOR = 6.17, 95% CI: 3.49, 10.92) had significantly increased odds of participating in social media intervention for HPVST. Conclusions: The findings underscore that the majority of the MUW are overdue for cervical cancer screening, regularly use social media, and are willing to participate in social media-driven intervention. Social media could be used to promote HPV self-testing among MUW.


2009 ◽  
Vol 124 (5) ◽  
pp. 733-744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly C. Felix ◽  
Janet Bronstein ◽  
Zoran Bursac ◽  
M. Kathryn Stewart ◽  
H. Russell Foushee ◽  
...  

Objectives. Family planning (FP) clinics are important access points for cervical cancer screening and referrals for follow-up care for abnormal Papanicolaou (Pap) smears for a substantial number of U.S. women. Because little is known about referral and facilitation practices in these clinics or client action based on referrals, we sought to determine FP provider referral and facilitation practices when seeing FP clients with abnormal Pap smear results, and FP client follow-up for abnormal Pap smears due to FP provider referrals. Methods. We conducted a mail survey of Medicaid-enrolled FP providers in Arkansas and Alabama, and conducted a telephone survey with a sample of FP clients of those providers responding to the provider survey. Results. Major provider factors associated with referral included rural location, health department and clinic institutional setting, large Title X practice/clinic size, and high FP clinic focus. Major factors associated with facilitation included rural location, non-physician specialty, health department and clinic institutional setting, and small Title X clinic size. Of women reporting abnormal results, 62.4% reported follow-up care. Of those who received follow-up care, 40.0% received some care and a referral from their FP provider. A major factor associated with clients seeking follow-up care was being told by their FP provider where to go for follow-up care. Age was a major factor associated with clients actually obtaining follow-up care. Conclusions. Where follow-up care is not available at the FP site, referrals are critical and are a major factor associated with whether women seek care for the condition. Interventions to increase follow-up rates should focus on provider and system features, rather than clients.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
R Chilian-Hof ◽  
S Schnupp ◽  
C Mahnkopf ◽  
J Brachmann ◽  
C Kleinecke

Abstract Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most frequent arrhythmia with a prevalence of 1%–2% in the general population. Oral anticoagulation (OAC) is state-of-the art for preventions of thromboembolic events, in particular ischemic stroke, in patients with atrial fibrillation. Despite its proven benefit, numerous studies have documented under use of OAC for a variety of reasons. Purpose To establish a program of nurse counseling in patient with atrial fibrillation and treatment with oral anticoagulation. The program is designed to improve patients satisfaction, compliance to OAC, prevention of medication errors, ischemic and bleeding events. Methods Patients with atrial fibrillation and treatment with oral anticoagulation were prospectively identified at the department of cardiology of our clinic. They received a 30 minutes nurse counseling about oral anticoagulation during the hospital stay and another 30 minutes telephone counseling 3 months after inclusion. Furthermore, they received a brochure to inform about atrial fibrillation, oral anticoagulation and methods to improve medication compliance. Demographic characteristics with stroke and bleeding risk (CHA2DS2-VASc and HAS-BLED scores), as well as procedural data were systematically assessed in a predefined standardized way and captured in a dedicated database. Results Between June 2017 and January 2018, a total of 617 patients (female gender: 43.1%) with atrial fibrillation and oral anticoagulation received nurse counseling. Demographic and follow-up data of 204 patients (female gender: 85/204 (41.7%); mean age 69.7±17.3, CHA2DS2-VASc score 4.2±1.7, HAS-BLED score 2.8±0.37) were assessed in a dedicated database. Indication for OAC was paroxysmal and persistent/permanent AF in 110/204 (53.9%), 93/204 (45.6%) and others 17 (8.3%), respectively. 33/2014 (16.2%) were treated with vitamin K antagonists, and 172/204 (84.3%) with non-vitamin K antagonists. After a follow-up of 0.46±2.9 years and 187 patients-years the rates of cardiovascular death, major bleeding events and all-cause stroke and TIA were 1.07%, 2.14% and 1.61% per 100 patient-years. Conclusion Nurse counseling in patients with atrial fibrillation and treatment with oral anticoagulation has been established at the REGIOMED clinics, Germany. Its effectiveness in terms of quality of live, medication complications and cardiovascular events has to be proven in a randomised trial. Acknowledgement/Funding Daichi-Sankyo


1992 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 330-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Lerman ◽  
P Hanjani ◽  
C Caputo ◽  
S Miller ◽  
E Delmoor ◽  
...  

PURPOSE A randomized trial was conducted to evaluate the impact of a telephone counseling intervention to improve patient adherence to colposcopic examination for suspected cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). METHODS Subjects were lower-income, minority women who missed a scheduled initial appointment for colposcopy at an urban medical clinic. Patients were randomly assigned to either a control condition (n = 42) or a telephone counseling condition (n = 48). The 15-minute, structured telephone counseling intervention protocol addressed educational, psychosocial, and practical barriers to colposcopy adherence. RESULTS The most common patient-reported barriers to colposcopy adherence included a lack of understanding of the purpose of colposcopy (50%), worry about or fear of cancer (25%), and forgetting (23%). Telephone counseling was found to be highly effective in addressing these barriers and improving adherence to diagnostic follow-up and treatment. Of patients in the control condition, 43% complied with a rescheduled colposcopy appointment, compared with 67% in the telephone counseling condition. Logistic regression analysis indicated that the effect of telephone counseling was independent of sociodemographic confounder variables (odds ratio = 2.6; P less than .003). Additionally, 74% of patients who received the initial telephone counseling adhered to recommended treatment, compared with 53% of patients in the control condition. CONCLUSION Brief, structured telephone contact may be a cost-effective mechanism for improving adherence to diagnostic follow-up and treatment for a variety of cancer screening tests.


2007 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 284-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn Sandweiss ◽  
Andrew Thompson ◽  
Sathima Natarajan
Keyword(s):  

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 5582-5582
Author(s):  
C. Chen ◽  
F. Campbell ◽  
J. Patruno ◽  
S. Kimmel ◽  
R. Boulay ◽  
...  

5582 Background: Sexually active adolescents have high rates of infection with human papilloma virus (HPV) and abnormal pap smears. They are considered a special population as they are likely to regress to normal cytology. The aim of our study was to identify factors associated with regression of cervical dysplasia in adolescents. Methods: We identified adolescent patients (aged 12–21 years) who had abnormal pap smears at the Center for Women's Medicine at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, PA, by CPT code from a database between Jan 2004 and Dec 2006. A chart review was performed to capture demographic data, cytology, smoking history, number of sexual partners, parity, race, contraceptive choice, use of barrier contraception. Chi-square analysis with logistic regression and multivariate analysis were used to identify factors associated with regression of cervical dysplasia. Results: Two-hundred two patients were identified. Mean age was 18.84 years (14–22 years). One hundred twenty-two (57.8%) were Hispanic, 71 (33.6%) Caucasian, and 16 (7.6%) Black. Fifty-two (24.6%) were pregnant at the time of diagnosis. Seventy-six (36%) were smokers. There were 125 (61.9%) cases of ASCUS, 33.7% (68 cases) LGSIL and 4.5% (9 cases) HGSIL on initial pap smear. One hundred eighteen (55.9%) patients had colposcopy, and of these, 32 (15.2%) had surgical intervention. Follow-up demonstrated that 72 (57.6%) patients had disease regression, 24 (19.2%) persistence and 29 (23.2%) progression. On multivariate analysis, patients who did not smoke were significantly more likely to show regression of cervical dysplasia on pap smear than women who smoked (OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.03–4.55, p = 0.039). Other factors were not statistically significant in predicting regression of cervical dysplasia. Conclusions: Adolescents who smoke were more likely to have persistent cervical dysplasia than non-smoking adolescents, putting smokers at an increased risk of advanced disease. We suggest that this subset have follow-up at shorter intervals and be enrolled in a smoking cessation program. No significant financial relationships to disclose.


2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (31_suppl) ◽  
pp. 193-193
Author(s):  
Deanna Gek Koon Teoh ◽  
Lisa A. Fall ◽  
Erin A. Beitelspacher ◽  
Charles W. Lais

193 Background: Cervical cancer is the most prevalent gynecologic cancer worldwide, but is third in the U.S. due to pap smear screening. However, American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP) guidelines are complex and frequently changed, resulting in guideline adherence as low as 33-44%. We describe a centralized pap smear tracking system (“pap hub”) and report preliminary results. Methods: On 1/1/13 we implemented the pap hub, routing all screening pap smear results to a dedicated OB/Gyn nursing staff with a new Epic workbench. Epic Health Maintenance Modifier updated to recommend pap smears for women age 21-65 years (not younger or older per guidelines). Screening Pap/HPV results auto routed to Pap Pool Epic inbasket (not to individual providers). Centralized nurse reviews results alongside past pap results on Pathology flowsheet in Epic If normal Normal history -> appropriate follow-up interval per screening guidelines If abnormal history -> repeat pap as determined by previous history and treatment If abnormal -> manage per ASCCP guidelines Document plan in Epic Result Note Update Epic problems list If Normal: document “Pap Hub Normal History” If Abnormal: document “Pap Hub Abnormal History” with specifics in Overview History Communicate results/plan to the patient. Update Health Maintenance Modifier with next step. Review abnormal results to ensure proper follow-up, with reminders as indicated. Results: Guideline recommendations against pap smears for patients <21 years and >65 years have not changed since 2009. Comparison of first-quarter data for 2010 (pre-Pap Hub) to 2013 (post-Pap Hub) have shown a 63.86% reduction in pap smears in women <21 years. Pap smears in women >65 years has always been low, but has decreased slightly from 2.4% of all pap smears in 2010 to 1.5% of all pap smears in 2013. The 2012 ASCCP guidelines have changed recommended pap smear frequency and abnormal pap smear follow-up, and compliance with these new recommendations is being collected. Conclusions: Pap smear screening has decreased the incidence of invasive cervical cancer in the United States. The Pap Hub, a centralized pap smear tracking system, improves compliance with pap smear screening guidelines.


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