Abstract
Background
Previous research has found breast and cervical cancer screening disparities between
women with and without disabilities, and between women living in rural versus urban
areas. Living in a rural area may add to the barriers women with disabilities experience
when attempting to obtain screening for breast and cervical cancer. The purpose of
this study was to examine the combination of disability status and rurality in association
with receipt of breast and cervical cancer screening among women age 18 to 64 in the
United States.
Methods
We conducted cross-sectional analyses of data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey,
using pooled annual data files from 2002 through 2008. We compared recent receipt
of breast and cervical cancer screening among four groups: 1) urban women without
disabilities, 2) urban women with disabilities, 3) rural women without disabilities,
and 4) rural women with disabilities.
Findings
Overall, women with disabilities were less likely to be up to date with mammograms
and Pap tests compared with women with no disabilities. Similarly, women in rural
areas were less likely to have received breast or cervical cancer screening within
recommended timeframes. Women who both had a disability and lived in a rural area
were the least likely to be current with screening.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that living in rural regions compounds disparities in receipt
of cancer screening among women with disabilities. Increased attention is needed to
improve receipt of cancer screening among rural women with disabilities.
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Biography
Willi Horner-Johnson, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. Her research is based in OHSU's Institute on Development & Disability.
Biography
Konrad Dobbertin, MPH, was a Research Assistant in the Institute on Disability and Development at Oregon Health & Science University when the bulk of this work was performed. He is now a consultant for West Coast Informatics.
Biography
Lisa I. Iezzoni, MD, MSc, is Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Mongan Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Dr. Iezzoni is a member of the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 09, 2015
Accepted:
February 9,
2015
Received in revised form:
January 26,
2015
Received:
August 3,
2014
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
