ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Health literacy affects how patients behave within the healthcare system. Overutilization of screening procedures inconsistent with the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines contributes to the high cost of health care. The authors hypothesize that higher health literacy supports guideline-concordant screening. This study assesses the effect of health literacy on nonrecommended prostate, breast, and cervical cancer screening in patients older than the recommended screening age limit. METHODS: The 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System included health literacy modules. Respondents self-reported their ability to obtain and understand health information, resulting in 4 health literacy rankings. The authors calculated the population-weighted proportion of respondents in each health literacy category who underwent screening past the Task Forceârecommended age limit. The ORs of nonrecommended screening for each malignancy were calculated, with low health literacy as the ref category. RESULTS: Individuals with higher health literacy underwent more nonrecommended screening. Nonrecommended prostate cancer screening was performed in 27.4% (95% CI=23.7%, 31.4%) and 47.7% (95% CI=44.1%, 51.3%) of respondents with low and high health literacy, respectively (p<0.001). Nonrecommended breast cancer screening was performed in 46.8% (95% CI=42.6%, 51.1%) and 67.7% (95% CI=64.2%, 71.1%) of respondents with low and high health literacy, respectively (p=0.002). Nonrecommended cervical cancer screening was performed in 33.8% (95% CI=31.1%, 36.5%) and 48.4% (95% CI=46.3%, 50.5%) of respondents with low and high health literacy, respectively (p<0.001). Individuals with high health literacy were significantly more likely than those with low health literacy to screen against the recommendations for prostate (OR=1.73, 95% CI=1.34, 2.23, p<0.001), cervical (OR=1.533, 95% CI=1.31, 1.80, p<0.001), and breast (OR=8.213, 95% CI=4.90, 13.76, p<0.001) cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Higher health literacy correlates with increased rates of screening beyond the recommended age, contrary to the study hypothesis. Breast cancer demonstrated the highest rates of nonrecommended screening.
Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms , Health Literacy , Prostatic Neoplasms , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms , Breast Neoplasms/diagnosis , Cross-Sectional Studies , Early Detection of Cancer , Female , Humans , Male , Mass Screening , Prostate-Specific Antigen , Prostatic Neoplasms/diagnosis , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/diagnosis , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/prevention & controlABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Implementation of survivorship care plans has been emphasized as a key component to improving care for cancer survivors. Our objective was to determine the prevalence of survivorship care plan receipt for survivors of genitourinary malignancy including kidney, prostate and bladder cancer, and evaluate whether receipt was associated with a measurable health benefit. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Cancer Survivorship modules in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017 were analyzed. The proportion of patients with bladder, kidney or prostate cancer receiving a survivorship care plan was calculated. Complex samples multivariable logistic regressions were performed to determine the association of survivorship care plan receipt with sociodemographic variables, and assess the relationship between survivorship care plan receipt and self-reported health status (general, physical and mental). RESULTS: Survivorship care plan distribution increased from 27.5% in 2012 to 39.5% in 2017. Patients with low income, less formal education and extremes of age were less likely to receive a survivorship care plan. Those receiving a survivorship care plan were less likely to report poor physical health (OR 0.70, CI 0.52-0.96, p=0.026). Subanalysis showed a similar result for physical health of patients with prostate cancer (OR 0.68, CI 0.48-0.96, p=0.030) and general health of patients with kidney cancer (OR 0.37, CI 0.19-0.75, p=0.006). CONCLUSIONS: Distribution of survivorship care plans to genitourinary malignancy survivors has increased since 2012 in response to advocacy from national organizations. Nonetheless, utilization is low and there is heterogeneity in the populations likely to receive a survivorship care plan. There is a measurable association between survivorship care plans and improved health status but further study is needed to determine causality.
