HIGHLIGHTS
- Every year cervical cancer kills thousands of people, but with vaccination, screening, and treatment, cervical cancer is preventable.
- Understanding the needs of health centers and safety-net settings to engage patients and communities in cervical cancer prevention were key goals for the initiative.
- Abt supported development of materials to increase patient and community engagement in cervical cancer prevention, screening, and management.
The Challenge
Cervical cancer kills an estimated 4,000 people each year, and almost 200,000 more are diagnosed with cervical pre-cancer. But cervical cancer is preventable. Vaccination against HPV (the virus that causes cervical cancer), screening, and treatment can help stop cancer before it starts. However, many women do not receive important screenings. This is particularly an issue for women who are uninsured or have public health insurance like Medicaid and for women living in rural, economically, or medically disadvantaged areas.
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is the leading agency supporting health centers and other safety-net healthcare settings across the country. In partnership with the federal Cancer MoonshotSM initiative and the multi-agency Federal Cervical Cancer Collaborative, HRSA’s Office of Women’s Health aimed to accelerate cervical cancer control to ensure no one dies from this preventable disease.
The Approach
Access to care is only one barrier to ending cervical cancer. Federal partners wanted to go beyond that to address the knowledge, attitudes, and concerns that might keep people from receiving life-saving screening and care. To support HRSA, Abt collaborated with the Maya Tech Corporation to increase patient and community engagement in cervical cancer prevention, screening and management.
This initiative included an inventory of existing patient-facing materials, coordination of a series of roundtables to inform barriers and concerns, and the development of a new suite of materials and resources to address needs.
One key aspect of the work included holding virtual roundtables with English and Spanish-speakers across the U.S., Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands. Participants discussed the experiences and behaviors that affect patient engagement. The team collected recommendations and insights to improve educational resources and outreach efforts.
The Results
Through the inventory analysis and roundtable series, the Abt team solidified approaches that can support and encourage patient engagement in prevention, screening, and treatment. The team used the findings to develop a suite of tailored communications materials for health centers and communities to implement. The suite included:
- a robust social media calendar with posts and graphics
- office or clinic posters that highlight the importance of screening for LGBTQIA+ individuals and the guidelines for screening at all ages
- public service announcements for use in multiple settings, such as telephone on-hold messages
- a library of supportive text messages that health centers can send to patients
- cervical screening follow-up cards health centers can use to support and empower patient care
Abt’s strategic communications team also developed a guide for working with communities and non-traditional partners. The comprehensive materials exist in a comprehensive toolkit available in English and Spanish.
Toolkits
Patient Engagement Toolkit