Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Oct 2021
Leveraging vertical COVID-19 investments to improve monitoring of cancer screening programme - A case study from Bangladesh.
Cancer screening programs from majority of the low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) report screening coverage as the only performance indicator, and that too measured through population-based sample surveys. Such information is unreliable and has very little value in assessing programmatic quality and impact. Regular monitoring of key process and outcome indicators based on data collected through a robust information system is essential to ensure quality of a screening programme. ⋯ The rate rapidly recovered as the program intensified screening in the hard-to-reach regions less affected by the pandemic and expanded the outreach services. Other LMICs may emulate Bangladesh example. Customizing the information system developed for pandemic surveillance to collect cancer screening data will help them build back the screening programs better.
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Preventive medicine · Oct 2021
COVID-19 and cancer screening in Scotland: A national and coordinated approach to minimising harm.
Screening is an important component of cancer control internationally. In Scotland, the National Health Service Scotland provides screening programmes for cervical, bowel and breast cancers. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the suspension of these programmes in March 2020. ⋯ Primary care has had to adapt to new infection prevention control measures for delivery of cervical screening. Cancer charities provided cancer intelligence and policy briefs to national bodies and Scottish Government, as well as supporting the public, patients and screening invitees through information and awareness campaigns. Emerging from the pandemic, there is recognition of the need and the opportunity to transform and renew both cancer and screening services in Scotland, and in particular to address long-standing workforce capacity problems through innovation and investment, and to continue to prioritise addressing health inequalities.
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Preventive medicine · Oct 2021
The national FIT-based colorectal cancer screening program in the Netherlands during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many healthcare services worldwide. Like many other nations, the Netherlands experienced large numbers of individuals affected by COVID-19 in 2020, leading to increased demands on hospitals and intensive care units. The Dutch Ministry of Health decided to suspend the Dutch biennial fecal immunochemical test (FIT) based colorectal cancer (CRC) screening program from March 16, 2020. ⋯ Participation rates of FIT screening and follow-up colonoscopy in the months just before and during the suspension were significantly lower than expected, but returned to normal levels after the suspension. Based on the anticipated 2020 cohort size, we estimate that the number of individuals with advanced neoplasia currently detected up until November 2020 was 31.2% lower compared to what would have been expected without a pandemic. Future studies should monitor the impact on long-term screening outcomes as a result of the pandemic.
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Preventive medicine · Oct 2021
COVID-19 impact on screening test volume through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer early detection program, January-June 2020, in the United States.
Women from racial and ethnic minority groups face a disproportionate burden of cervical and breast cancers in the United States. The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic might exacerbate these disparities as supply and demand for screening services are reduced. The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) provides cancer screening services to women with low income and inadequate health insurance. ⋯ Test volume began to recover in May and, by June 2020, NBCCEDP breast and cervical cancer screening test volume was 39% and 40% below the 5-year average for that month, respectively. However, breast cancer screening remained over 50% below the 5-year average among women in rural areas. NBCCEDP programs reported assisting health care providers resume screening.
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Preventive medicine · Oct 2021
Prioritizing cervical cancer screening services during the COVID-19 pandemic: Response of an academic medical center and a public safety net hospital in California.
The expeditious diagnosis and treatment of high-grade cervical precancers are fundamental to cervical cancer prevention. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic healthcare systems have at times restricted in-person visits to those deemed urgent. Professional societies provided some guidance to clinicians regarding ways in which traditional cervical cancer screening might be modified, but many gaps remained. ⋯ Tiers corresponding to the intensity of the local pandemic were constructed, and clinical delays were lengthened for the lowest-risk patients as tiers escalated. The final product was a management grid designed to escalate and de-escalate with changes in the local epidemiology of the COVID-19 pandemic. While this effort resulted in substantial delays in clinical screening services as mandated by the healthcare systems, the population effects of delaying on both cervical cancer outcomes as well as the beneficial effects related to decreasing transmission of severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 have yet to be elucidated.