With an increase in the number of annual deaths caused by cancer in the US population, there have been many efforts by numerous private and public entities to create programs aimed at prevention of certain types of cancer. Due to ineffective intervention strategies many programs struggle to produce positive outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the Every Woman Matters Program (EWM), its' ineffectiveness and the reasons as to why the program was unsuccessful. I will summarize and analyze two other prevention programs that succeeded at the goal of advocating and promoting health and prevention. Also, I will describe two strategies for creating a more effective prevention program.
The Every Woman Matters Program
The Every Woman Matters Program ( EWM) was created by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NDHHS). The goal of the NDHHS was to provide free health examinations to low income women between the ages of 40 and 74 years of age with no health insurance. Through the Every Woman Matters program eligible women were provided with the following services: clinical breast examinations, Mammogram screenings and diagnostics, breast ultrasounds, referrals for breast lump evaluations, breast biopsy, fine needle/ cyst aspirations, Pap tests, yearly pelvic exams, colposcopy – directed biopsy, other basic labs and physical examinations.
The Every Woman Matters Study
Despite of the of the implementation of the EWM program the rates of cervical and breast cancer screening in the state of Nebraska still remain low. With the goal of developing a practice – based intervention and identifying strategies that would help reduce the barriers of delivering the screening services by the EWM program, Backe...
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...Smith, K.,Florio, A., Hall, S.J. (2007). Community- Based Free Prostate Cancer Screening Program. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 1(3), 215-220.Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2614324/
Nation, M., Crusto, C., Wandersman, A., Kumpfer, K. L., Seybolt, D., Morrissey-Kane, E., & Davino, K. (2003). What works in prevention: Principles of Effective Prevention Programs. American Psychologist, 58, 449-456. Retrieved from http://www.mentoring.org/downloads/mentoring_4.pdf
Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services (NDHHS) . (2011). Every Woman Matters Program: Provider Matters. Retrieved from http://dhhs.ne.gov/publichealth/Pages/womenshealth_ewm_ewmproviders.aspx
World Health Organization. (2014). Early Detection of Cancer. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/cancer/detection/en/
How do cultural differences affect breast cancer prevalence, prevention, and treatment in African-American, Hispanic/Latina, and Caucasian women living in the United States?
As of today, there are many programs and efforts being made that have either already decreased the gap or are attempting to bring change to the problem of increased deaths of African American women from breast cancer. One example is a study that was done in Massachusetts that gave low-income African American women aged 50-70 resources and education for six years, and it was “concluded that the Massachusetts program appeared to mitigate the disadvantages of living in high-poverty neighborhoods” for the incidence of breast cancer in that specific area (Cunningham 595). This study shows that these women need help that has not been previously provided to them in order to reduce the disparity. In this regard, the role of affordable health care needs to be available in order to decrease this problem. The same study showed that “among women without health insurance, disproportionately large numbers are [older African Americans], providing an explanation for high rates of advanced stage cancers at presentation among [African American] women in general” (Cunningham 594). If women are to be able to access affordable screenings, affordable health care must also be provided. Once again, this brings in the role of government in the lives of African American women. Federally qualified health centers offer preventative health care and screenings for a reduced or free cost to women of low socio-economic status, many of which happened to be African American women at a particular clinic, and it was found that the incidence of breast cancer in that community was reduced from the rates that were established previously (Adams 640). Therefore, if low-income women are to be able to access quality health care, then there must be more federally qualified ...
The results of the study were consistent with the findings of other studies of the same nature on the effectiveness of breast self-examination in detecting and curbing breast cancer. According to a report compiled by Nancy Baxter in Canada, there was no evidence of significant benefit of breast self-exam on breast cancer cases in women of various age groups (2001). The study also found that there was considerable physical and psychological harm associated with breast self-exams. A different study by Hackshaw and Paul also found no significant difference in the number of breast cancer deaths between women who had been taught how to perform breast self-exams and those who did not perform the exams (2003).
The educator role of the APHN and NP includes health education within a nursing framework and professional nurse educator roles. The APHN analyzes groups at risk within a community and implements health education interventions. The APHN and NP boost wellness and contribute to conserving and advocating health by teaching the importance of a healthy lifestyle, stress management, physical exercise, and good nutrition. They educate about disease processes and the importance of following treatment systems. In addition, they provide guidance and educate clients on the use of birth control methods, diet, medications, and other therapeutic procedures. They also counsel groups, families, clients, and the community on the importance of assuming responsibility for their own
The Information gathered in 2012 from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studies concluded that cervical cancer, “... used to be the leading cause of cancer death for women in the United States” (“Cervical Cancer Statistics”). But these statistics have gone down significantly in the past forty years because Planned Parenthood facilities provide to women pap smears to detect cell changes before the cancer develops. On the other hand, Planned Parenthood does not directly provide mammograms for women, their doctors and nurses “... teach patients about breast care, [and] connect patients to resources to help them get mammograms” ("Breast Cancer Screenings"). The important health care work done by the Planned Parenthood Clinics is, at times, over sought and even forgotten when the organization is embroiled in controversy as it finds itself in
According to the National Cancer Institute, cancer health disparities are defined as the adverse differences between specific populations and the achievement of an optimal state of health. These population groups are categorized by geographic location, income, disability, age, education, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or race. These factors correlate with cancer mortality rates that impact specific population groups in the United States, cancer prevalence is the number of people diagnosed or living with cancer, and cancer incidence which is the number of new cancer cases in a population. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2013, there were an estimated 1,660,290 new cases of cancer and 580,350 of the new cases resulted in mortality. Individuals who have limited access to healthcare, health illiterate, and poverty stricken are more likely to develop cancer. This means a person’s socioeconomic status can determine the likelihood of their probability of developing cancer
Vogel, VG (May 2008). Preventing breast cancer in high-risk women, 2008. Oncology, 22, 6. p.666. Retrieved from Academic OneFile
Socioeconomic factors such, as inadequate screening are the reason for the African American women being diagnosed in the later stages. Screening such as mammograms is to catch breast cancer at an early age but data indicates that African American women tend to wait till it’s too late to receive this because of lack of insurance.
Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2008). Public health nursing: Population centered health care in the community (6th ed.). St. Louis: Mosby.
Mammography is a very accurate screening tool for women at both average and increased risk; however, like any medical test, it is not perfect. Although the majority of women with an abnormal mammogram do not have cancer, all suspicious lesions that cannot be resolved with additional imaging should be biopsied for a definitive diagnosis. Breast cancer screening for women at average risk includes clinical breast exam and mammography. This screening tool can often detect breast cancer at an early stage, when treatment is more effective and a cure is more likely (cancersupporttexas.org, 2015). Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control shows that lack of mammography screening is the main cause of
Wardle & Pope (1992) claimed that evaluating the benefits of health screening can be very difficult. This is primarily due to the fact that premature death from chronic diseases, fore example breast and cervical cancer is comparatively rare and consequently very large sam...
4. Prevention (CDC). Cancer survivors – United States, 2007. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. March 11, 2011; 60(9): 269-272
A series of educational workshops targeting women in the community who meet the mammography measure’s eligibility criteria.
Wardle & Pope (1992) claimed that evaluating the benefits of health screening can be very difficult. This is primarily due to the fact that premature death from chronic diseases, fore example breast and cervical cancer, is comparatively rare and con...
Public Health Nursing (PHN) aims to improve the wellbeing of the population by promoting health and preventing disease among all people in the communities (Public Health Nursing, 2013). The PHN utilizes the primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention to help improve the health of the communities. The PHN process is applied to all levels of practice. Interventions are “actions take on behalf of individuals, families, systems, and communities to improve or protect health status” (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012, p. 191). This paper will identify PHN interventions such as screening, outreach, and referral and follow-up, health teaching, and counseling that was identified in the PHN in the 21st Century project that this author completed as part of the PHN experience. This paper will also identify if the interventions were at the community, system or individual/family level.