Mass screening in low-income populations: the challenges of securing diagnostic and treatment services in a national cancer screening program.

Funding for many mass screening programs for low-income and uninsured populations provides resources for screening tests, yet only rarely does it provide coverage for necessary follow-up diagnostic and treatment services. The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP), a federally funded initiative that provides cancer screening to low-income uninsured and underinsured women, covers some diagnostic follow-up tests and no treatment services. We conducted in-depth case studies of seven state programs participating in the NBCCEDP to investigate the strategies and approaches being used to secure diagnostic and treatment services. The results suggest that the program relies on a patchwork of resources--at state and local levels--to provide diagnostic and treatment services. This includes a number of components of local safety nets, all of which are unstable and have uncertain futures. Public health disease-screening initiatives need to reconsider the feasibility of continued reliance on case-by-case appeals to the local safety net for diagnostic follow-up and treatment services.

Lessons learned from the PMI case study: the community perspective.

PIP: This summary report presents the lessons learned during the two-part qualitative case study on the efficacy of the Prevention Marketing Initiative (PMI) in its implementation of an HIV prevention program. About 179 community participants were included in the PMI program, which discussed topics ranging from organizing initial planning committees to financially sustaining federal demonstration programs. One of the successes observed was the development of rapport with schools and churches; however, during the course of its implementation, the program realized the necessity of 1) approaching the program as an ongoing process; 2) going beyond studying the target population through formative research; 3) changing the role of a community coalition as the project matures; 4) reexamining the composition of coalition in the light of the target audience; 5) advocating the project as a community resource that promotes collaboration; 6) attending the needs of coalition members; and 7) using the media in the campaign. Likewise, several lessons were also learned in the areas of youth involvement, intervention development, program implementation, and maintenance of PMI activities.^ieng

Use of services by diabetes patients in managed care organizations. Development of a diabetes surveillance system. CDC Diabetes in Managed Care Work Group.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a diabetes surveillance system that estimates the prevalence of diabetes and characterizes service use in diverse managed care organizations (MCOs). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Computerized inpatient, pharmacy, outpatient, and laboratory records were used to develop an algorithm to identify diabetes patients and to develop surveillance indicators common to the three participating MCOs. Using 1993 data, the availability, specifications, and limitations of various surveillance indicators were determined. RESULTS: An extensive set of diabetes surveillance indicators was identified from the four sources of data. Consistent data specifications across MCOs needed to consider variation in the type of data collected, a lack of documentation on level of coverage, differences in coding data, and different models of health care delivery. A total of 16,363 diabetes patients were identified. The age-adjusted prevalence of diabetes ranged from 24 to 29 per 1,000 enrollees. Approximately one-third of patients with diabetes (32-34%) were taking insulin. The majority had one or more visits to a primary care physician during the year (72-94%). Visits to specialists were less frequent. Ophthalmologists and optometrists were the most commonly used specialists: 29-60% of the patients with diabetes at the three MCOs had visited an ophthalmologist or optometrist. About one-fifth had an overnight hospital stay during the year. CONCLUSIONS: This diabetes surveillance system is a useful tool for MCOs to track trends in prevalence of diabetes, use of health services, and delivery of preventive care to individuals with diabetes. This system may also be useful for health care planning and for assessing use changes after new developments in diabetes care or new quality management initiatives.

The potential supply of organ donors. An assessment of the efficacy of organ procurement efforts in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the potential supply of organ donors and to measure the efficiency of organ procurement efforts in the United States. METHODS: A geographic database has been developed consisting of multiple cause of death and sociodemographic data compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics. All deaths are evaluated as to their potential for organ donation. Two classes of potential donors are identified: class 1 estimates are restricted to causes of death involving significant head trauma only, and class 2 estimates include class 1 estimates as well as deaths in which brain death was less probable. RESULTS: Over 23,000 people are currently awaiting a kidney, heart, liver, heart-lung, pancreas, or lung transplantation. Donor supply is inadequate, and the number of donors remained unchanged at approximately 4000 annually for 1986 through 1989, with a modest 9.1% increase in 1990. Between 6900 and 10,700 potential donors are available annually (eg, 28.5 to 43.7 per million population). Depending on the class of donor considered, organ procurement efforts are between 37% and 59% efficient. Efficiency greatly varies by state and organ procurement organization. CONCLUSIONS: Many more organ donors are available than are being accessed through existing organ procurement efforts. Realistically, it may be possible to increase by 80% the number of donors available in the United States (up to 7300 annually). It is conceivable, although unlikely, that the supply of donor organs could achieve a level to meet demand.