Are Wellness Visits a Possible and Effective Cure for the Increasing Cancer Burden in Poland? Example of Women's Preventive Services in the U.S.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Cancer is one of the leading causes of death among Polish women in general, and first in women aged 25-64. Contributing to this cancer burden are modifiable behavioral risk factors, including low utilization of cancer screenings. Poland has an urgent need for new systemic solutions that will decrease cancer burden in the female Polish population. This study examined the United States' implementation of preventive wellness visits as a viable solution for implementation in Poland. METHODS: Health insurance claims data for nearly three million women in five states of the U.S. were examined to identify use of mammograms, colorectal cancer screening, and lung cancer screening. Three subgroups of the cohort were assessed for the probability of receipt of screening associated with type of healthcare visit history (women with wellness visits-W; with wellness visits and related preventive services and screenings-W+P; and control group-C). All multiple comparisons were significant (alpha = 0.05) at p < 0.0001, except comparison between subgroups (W vs. P+W) for lung cancer screening. RESULTS: Breast and colorectal cancer screenings had substantially higher participation after W and W+P in comparison with C; moreover, a slight increase after W or P+W was seen for lung cancer as well. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that wellness visits are an effective tool for increasing cancer screening among women in the U.S. Introduction of a similar solution in Poland could potentially help produce higher screening rates, address cancer prevention needs (not only for secondary cancer prevention), and lower cancer burden.