Rural women have high death rates from cancer; sending them interactive DVDs increased screeing rates, study finds

Photo by Angiola Harry, Unsplash

Still using DVDs? You're not the only one. Some cancer researchers have discovered the medium can be an excellent rural outreach tool. They sent tailored, interactive DVDs to women in rural Ohio and Indiana "to educate and remind them to be screened for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers — three cancers that account for 40% of new cancer cases and a quarter of cancer deaths among U.S. women each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," reports Nada Hassanein of USA Today. "Timely screenings are important to catch disease at an earlier stage, but rural women have lower rates of screening for all three of those cancers. In the study, "Women who received a DVD were nearly twice as likely to obtain all the screenings compared to women. And those who were also paired with a patient navigator by phone had a six-fold greater chance of getting a screening, according to the study by researchers from Ohio State University and the state."

Connecting medical education and treatment with rural residents required an intentional, unique approach. The study, published in the American Medical Association's JAMA Network Open, involved 960 women, ages 50 to 74, who were not up-to-date on screenings. DVDs were used because "Many rural residents still lack broadband, which hinders telehealth services," Hassanein reports. The DVDs "provided information to patients about risk, age group, family history and the benefits of screening, said study coauthor Electra Paskett, a cancer epidemiology professor." The study used as navigators social workers who called the women to help set up screenings and find assistance to navigate barriers like transportation.

Paskett told Hassanein, "The question still is access: Not only broadband access, internet access, but access to a computer or a smartphone, which is not universal." Hassaneon writes, "Tailored approaches can really move the needle in helping patients get screened, as seen throughout the pandemic with community-level vaccination campaigns, Paskett said."

Cancer kills a disproportionate share of rural women. "More than half — 58% — of the rural aging population 65 and older are women," Hassanein reports. "While cancer rates are slightly lower in rural areas compared to urban, cancer-related deaths are significantly higher — 180 deaths per 100,000 compared to 158 in urban areas, the CDC reports."

Screening is only a start. Robin Yabroff, an American Cancer Society scientist, told Hassanein, "It's also important to make sure that they maintain that cancer screening – that if they do have an abnormal screening test, that they get timely follow up. It's a part of the bigger process. Not only is regular screening important, but should someone be diagnosed with cancer, making sure they have access to timely and high-quality cancer care.”