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Objectives: Rural women are underrepresented in cancer research. We hypothesized that providing access to a research study to rural, medically underserved women who were receiving their breast cancer screening using a mobile mammography unit would increase the representation of rural women in a cancer cohort study. Design: This study is a cross-sectional study using a cohort of women who have been recruited to a breast cancer study in Arkansas. Setting: Recruiters accompanied a mobile mammography unit, the MammoVan, to implement a novel method for reaching and recruiting underrepresented rural Arkansas women into the study. Participants include 5850 women recruited from 2010 through 2012 as part of the Arkansas Rural Community Health (ARCH) study. Results: Participants recruited during their mammography screening on the MammoVan tended to be more rural, less educated, and more likely to be non-Hispanic than those recruited in other venues. A significant difference was not noted for race or age. Conclusion: Collaboration with the MammoVan greatly aided the recruitment of rural participants. These strategies can facilitate the representation of this historically underserved and understudied rural population in future research studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Cervical cancer affects women without access to preventative screening at higher rates. Any woman who has developed an invasive case of cervical cancer should be regarded as a failure of screening. Disparities in access to screening, triage, and treatment fuel an uneven distribution in the burden of cervical cancer within the United States; especially in southern states like Arkansas. The purpose of this study was to evaluate demographic and behavioral risk factors for cervical cancer and identify potential barriers which may influence the likelihood of complying with current Pap test recommendations nationally and in Arkansas. Materials and Methods: Data from the 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Survey System (BRFSS) was used to describe demographic characteristics and behavioral risk factors among 1,587 females in Arkansas and 162,222 in the United States aged 18 and above who were eligible to receive Pap tests. Women with a medical history of hysterectomy that included the removal of the cervix were excluded from analysis because they are not considered to be medically eligible to receive Pap tests. Results: Socioeconomic status, age, race, and health insurance were significantly associated with the likelihood to comply with current screening recommendations among women in both Arkansas and the United States. Arkansan women who had less than a 12-year education (Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.41, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.04, 1.64) and were without health insurance (OR = 3.56, 95% CI = 1.66, 7.66) were more likely to be non-compliant with Pap testing, which was similar to the finding on the national level. The prevalence of Pap test compliance was significantly lower among women in Arkansas when compared to the national average in every sociodemographic sector. Discussion: According to United States Census data collected in 2013, Arkansas had the highest cervical cancer incidence of 10.6 per 100,000 person-years, while the national average was 150 Comparison of Compliance with Cervical Cancer Screening among Women aged 18 and above in Arkansas and the United States--O'Connor, Tao, and Su Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice Volume 11, Issue 4, Winter 2018 http://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/jhdrp/Follow on Facebook: Health.Disparities.Journal Follow on Twitter: @jhdrp 7.7 per 100,000 person-years. Therefore, future population-based cervical cancer interventions in Arkansas should target the promotion of Pap test compliance among women of minority populations, with low socioeconomic status, and who are medically under or uninsured. Organized screening interventions might include offering free or reduced cost Pap testing in both urban and rural locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Low-dose CT (LDCT) is underused in Arkansas for lung cancer screening, a rural state with a high incidence of lung cancer. The objective was to determine whether offering free LDCT increased the number of high-risk individuals screened in a rural catchment area., Methods: There were 5,402 patients enrolled in screening at Highlands Oncology, a community oncology clinic in Northwest Arkansas, from 2013 to 2020. Screenings were separated into time periods: period 1 (10 months for-fee), period 2 (10 months free with targeted advertisements and primary care outreach), and period 3 (62 months free with only primary care outreach). In all, 5,035 high-risk participants were eligible for analysis based on National Comprehensive Cancer Network Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology. Enrollment rates, incidence densities (IDs), Cox proportional hazard models, and Kaplan-Meier curves were performed to investigate differences between enrollment periods and high-risk groups., Results: Patient volume increased drastically once screenings were offered free of charge (period 1 = 4.6 versus period 2 = 66.0 and period 3 = 69.8 average patients per month). Incidence density per 1,000 person-years increased through each period (ID Period 1  = 17.2; ID Period 2  = 20.8; ID Period 3  = 25.5 cases). Cox models revealed significant differences in lung cancer risk between high-risk groups (P = .012) but not enrollment periods (P = .19). Kaplan-Meier lung cancer-free probabilities differed significantly between high-risk groups (log-rank P = .00068) but not enrollment periods (log-rank P = .18)., Conclusions: This study suggests that eligible patients are more receptive to free LDCT screening, despite most insurances not having a required copay for eligible patients., (Copyright © 2023 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)