Promoting a breast cancer screening clinic for underserved women: A community collaboration

Objective: To increase breast cancer (BC) awareness, screening services, and education for local underserved women. Design: Mayo Clinic launched a twice-monthly, half-day outreach breast clinic composed of 3 women physicians, a nurse and medical interpreters. Setting: Community Adult Literacy Learning Center in Rochester, Minnesota. Patients: Underserved women from immigrant and minority backgrounds in Rochester. Interventions: The clinic offered clinical breast examinations, breast imaging, follow-up appointments, assistance in accessing government paid health coverage programs, educational classes, transportation vouchers, and follow-up surveys. Main Outcome Measures: We assessed the number of patients seen, number of mammograms, breast sonograms, number of patients diagnosed with BC, number of interpreters, quantity of transportation vouchers and results of follow-up surveys. Results: Between December 1, 2005 and July 31, 2009 there were 177 patient visits (including 46 follow-up visits) provided to 131 women on 58 days spent in the clinic. One hundred thirteen women (86.3%) had mammograms, sonograms, or both. Screening identified one woman with a diagnosis of breast cancer, 5 with symptomatic breast cysts and 3 women who underwent breast biopsy after a suspicious lesion was identified with breast imaging. One hundred and twenty women required an interpreter for the initial examination and mammogram visit. Transportation vouchers were used by 51 women. All follow-up surveys indicated overall satisfaction with the breast clinic, services and screening procedures. Conclusions: For effective breast screening of underserved in a community setting, it is important to address racial/ethnic background, socioeconomic status, English language proficiency, and access to health care in general.