Promoting Positive Health Behaviours

A summary of every woman matters

The phrase “prevention is better than cure” perhaps more appreciated by oncologists and anybody else who appreciates the gravity of the different forms of cancer that are in existence. In Nebraska, the Every Woman Matters program is a state funded initiative that specializes in the early screening of cervical and Breast Cancer mostly in low income populations. The main method of screening is the pap smear for cervical and mammograms for breast cancer. The women who were targeted by this program are directed to clinics where they can receive the service free of charge given their inability to afford the crucial services. This program however failed to reach its targets due to resistance from private practices that were already overwhelmed by their tight schedules (Feresu et al, 2008).

There are vast scores of people who are uninsured and others ignorant about the importance of early screening initiatives that are literally going door to door. Good examples of these initiatives are the ‘mobile mammography units in Florida’ and well mobiles in Maryland.

Mobile Mammography Units in Florida

Like the name of the project suggests, the whole setup is mobile and this means moving around the area so as to bring the screening facilities closer to the women who need to be screened for breast cancer. They operate with the help of a coach that has been modified into a state of the art radiology clinic that has qualified personnel on board. This is because the primary and most reliable method of testing for breast cancer is through the use of mammograms and the more reliable, the better for the women since accuracy is key. They operate on an appointment basis through telephone reservations and at the same time walk ins are also accepted subject to availability of space. Because of the need to reach as many people as possible within the vicinity, both the insured and the uninsured are catered for with those who are being insured required to carry with them details of the same as well as personal contacts (Lee et a, 2010).

The results take seven to ten days to be processed and delivered to the appointed physicians. Payment can be done through insurance or for those who are paying cash; the figure is discounted to $150. Women who have had previous mammography are also expected to mention this and contact the previous providers of the service so that a comparison can be made (Radiology Regional Centre, 2012). This program’s success can be attributed to the high level of professionalism (Heller et al, 2004).

The Governor’s Wellmobile program in Maryland

Like the Florida program above, this one serves both the insured as well as women who are not medically insured. However it is notable that majority of the people who seek their services are those who are wither under-insured or without insurance and this means that they do not have access to ambulatory services. This program has a total of four vans that move from place to place. The administration of this early screening program is done by the University of Maryland’s school of Nursing –Baltimore and the team comprises of registered nurses, outreach workers who are bilingual and also professional drivers. Each van has two examination rooms as well as laboratory and intake room where patrons get educated and informed.

Baltimore has a perennial unemployment problem leading to a large population of the uninsured. This is ideally meant to be a short term solution to the present problem. The program operates on a case by case basis and they test for STDs in men and women and also do pregnancy tests. Children are also catered for in routine check-ups (Eason, 2009). The key success factor for this initiative is the wide scope of patients it targets and also its consistency (Jani et al, 2012).

Strategies to be used in the everywoman matters program

For a follow up program to EWM to be more effective, it is necessary that organizers take into account the complexities that are associated with involving private practices in such an initiative since they are more widespread and have a wider reach to the community (Backer et al, 2005). Secondly, it will be essential to consider and highlight other non-medical benefits of early screening. This could be economic advantages such as cash savings (Schwarts, 2010). Third, the personnel involved should be appropriately placed. Health care promoters should deal mostly with public sensitization whereas the preventive care specialists handle the actual ground work (Tenglang, 2010).

Conclusion

Every society has the responsibility of looking after its vulnerable members. In the American context, this refers to women who are uninsured or under insured. This locks them out of mainstream programs of early screening for cervical and breast cancer. However, initiatives such as the EWM in Nebraska, Florida mobile mammography truck and also the Wellmobile initiative are exemplary. Other states should refine these programs and follow suit for the betterment of all society.
References

Backer, E. L., Geske, J. A., McIlvain, H. E., Dodendorf, D. M., & Minier, W. C. (2005). Improving female preventive health care delivery through practice change: An Every Woman Matters study. Journal of the American Board of Family Practice, 18(5), 401–408.

Eason, N. (2009) Wellmobile serves uninsured and under insured Retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/article/wellmobile-serves-uninsured-and-under-insured on April 18, 2013

Feresu, S. A., Zhang, W., Puumala, S. E., Ullrich, F., & Anderson, J. R. (2008). Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Among Low-income Women in Nebraska: Findings from the Every Woman Matters Program, 1993–2004.Journal of health care for the poor and underserved, 19(3), 797-813.

Heller, B. R., & Goldwater, M. R. (2004). The Governor’s Wellmobile: Maryland’s mobile primary care clinic. The Journal of nursing education, 43(2), 92.

Jani, J. S., Tice, C., & Wiseman, R. (2012). Assessing an Interdisciplinary Health Care Model: The Governor’s Wellmobile Program. Social Work in Health Care, 51(5), 441-456.

Lee, J. Y., Enoch, K., Gibson, R., Stewart, C., Fincher, R., Bland, K., … & Henry-Tillman, R. S. (2010). Impact of mobile mammography among the medically underserved. In J Clin Oncol (Meeting Abstracts) (Vol. 28, No. 15_suppl, p. e12027).

Radiology Regional Centre (2012) Early Screening Saves time and lives. Retrieved from http://radiologyregional.com/radiologyregional/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=196on April 18, 2013

Schwartz , S.M . , Ireland,C., Strecher, V., Nakan, D., Wang. The Economic value of a wellness and disease prevention program.Population health Management . 13 (6),309-317.

Tenglang (2010). Health Promotion and disease prevention: logically different conception?Health Care Analysis . 18 (4), 32-34.