A new study finds breast cancer screening rates (BCSR) declined among women aged 50 to 74 years within 32 community health centers that serve lower-income populations during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The report, appearing in the journal, CANCER, suggests that breast cancer screening rates within community clinics in low-income communities declined by 8% from July 2019-2020, reversing an 18% improvement between July 2018-2019.
This is one of the first studies to examine BCSRs among lower-income populations during the pandemic. Investigators led by Stacey Fedewa, PhD of the American Cancer Society, examined BCSRs among 32 community health centers that provide healthcare services to communities of color and lower income populations and received grant funding from the American Cancer Society (ACS) to improve their BCSRs.
