Rapid adaptation of cancer screening practices during COVID-19: A multi-state qualitative study.
Ann Fam Med
; (20 Suppl 1)2022 04 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2284716
ABSTRACT
Context The COVID-19 pandemic required primary care practices to rapidly adapt cancer screening procedures to comply with changing guidelines and policies. Objective:
This study sought to 1) identify cancer screening barriers and facilitators during the COVID-19 pandemic; 2) describe cancer screening adaptations; and 3) provide recommendations. Studydesign:
A qualitative study was conducted (n= 42) with primary care staff. Individual interviews were conducted through videoconference from August 2020 - April 2021 and recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for themes using NVivo 12 Plus.Setting:
Primary care practices included federally qualified health centers, tribal health centers, rural health clinics, hospital/health system-owned, and academic medical centers located across ten states including urban (55%) and rural (45%) sites. Population studied Primary care staff included physicians (n=13), residents (n=10), advanced practice providers (n=9), and administrators (n=10). Outcomemeasures:
The interviews assessed perceptions about cancer screening barriers and facilitators, necessary adaptations, and future recommendations.Results:
Barriers to cancer screening included delays in primary and specialty care, staff shortages, lack of personal protective equipment, patient hesitancy to receive in-person care, postal service delays for mail-home testing, COVID-19 travel restrictions (for Mexico-US border-crossing patients) and organizational policies (e.g., required COVID-19 testing prior to screening). Facilitators included better care coordination and collaboration due to the pandemic and more time during telehealth visits to discuss cancer screening compared to in-person visits. Adaptations included delayed screening, patient triage (e.g., prioritizing patients overdue for screening), telehealth visits to discuss cancer screening, mail-home testing, coordinating cancer screenings (e.g., providing fecal immunochemical test materials during cervical cancer screening) and same-day cancer screening. Recommendations included more public health education about the importance of cancer screening during COVID-19, more mail-home testing, and expanded healthcare access (e.g., weekend clinic) to address patient backlogs for cancer screening.Conclusions:
Primary care staff developed innovative strategies to adapt cancer screening during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unresolved challenges (e.g., patient backlogs) will require additional implementation stra.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Uterine Cervical Neoplasms
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
Language:
English
Journal subject:
Family Practice
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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