Mailed self-collection kits improved cervical cancer screening rates among racial or ethnic minority populations, according to a study published June 6 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
For the study, researchers conducted a randomized clinical trial of 2,474 patients at a safety-net health system who were overdue for cervical cancer screening. Patients received either a telephone reminder only, a telephone reminder and a mailed self-collection kit, or a telephone reminder, a mailed self-collection kit and patient navigation services.
Here are five notes on study’s findings:
- After six months, 17.4% of the 828 patients who received a telephone reminder only participated in cervical cancer screening.
Of the 828 patients who received a telephone reminder and a mailed self-collection kit, 41.1% participated in cervical cancer screening.
Of the 818 patients who received a telephone reminder, a mailed self-collection kit and patient navigation services, 46.6% participated in cervical cancer screening. - Of all 2,474 patients, 94% were from racial or ethnic minority populations, with 66.9% identifying as Hispanic or Latino, 21.6% as non-Hispanic Black or African American, 3.3% as non-Hispanic Asian and 2.1% as American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander or other or unknown race.
- More than half of all patients who received care (56.1%) were covered by their county’s publicly funded financial assistance program.
- Compared to a telephone reminder alone, cervical cancer screening participation was 2.36 times higher when patients received a mailed self-collection kit, and 2.68 times higher when patients received a mailed self-collection kit and patient navigation services.
- “The large increase in cervical cancer screening participation using self-collection compared to telephone reminders suggest that self-collection should be considered in safety-net settings with suboptimal cervical cancer screening coverage,” the study authors wrote.
Read the full study here.
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