The expertise, accessibility, and patient-centered approach of Advance Practitioners (APs) can serve a vital function in bridging the gap of vulnerable communities’ access to preventative cancer care and improve survival by providing comprehensive cancer screenings to underserved communities, with a goal to reduce late-stage cancer diagnoses.

This research was presented by Stacy Mathews, MSN, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, and Heather Koniarczyk, MSN, APRN-CNP, AOCN, Advanced Practitioner Society for Hematology and Oncology, Hightstown, New Jersey, at the 2024 Journal of the Advanced Practitioner in Oncology (JADPRO) meeting in Grapevine, Texas.

A community AP works to tackle cancer disparities through research, education, prevention, navigation, and improving access to healthcare resources in underserved populations. In this review of data, the patient population served are 57% black; 90% female; and 77% from an urban county in Ohio. The AP offers services such as individual education on screening processes, explains techniques, orders screening exams, discusses results, facilitates timely referrals for abnormal screening results. 

The cancer screening services offered include mammography, colonoscopy, prostate specific antigen (PSA), lung cancer screening imaging, human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination clinics/PAP testing, and a research study on the impact of screening black Americans for multiple myeloma. 

Since 2021, the number of individual patients and screening orders served was as follows: 1004 in 2021, 1746 in 2022, 1570 in 2023, and 2114 annualized in 2024. In 2023, patient volume decreased as did patients served, and orders entered when there was a vacancy of the AP position but recovered with when an AP was reinstated at the end of 2023. The percentage of screening orders completed increased year-over-year from 39% to 44%. The AP has managed and navigated 17 patients with a new cancer diagnosis over a 3-year period. 

“An APs role in a community outreach program has proven to support the programs growth, assist patients in overcoming barriers such as trust in healthcare providers, health literacy, transportation issues, financial constraints, and language barriers, lost to follow- up cases, which disproportionately affect marginalized communities,” they concluded. 

“Future research and policy efforts should continue to support and expand the involvement of APs in cancer screening initiatives to ensure equitable access to preventive care for all individuals, regardless of socioeconomic status or background,” they added. 

Source:

Matews S, Koniarczyk H. Enhancing Cancer Screening Accessibility: The Advance Practitioner’s Role in Serving Vulnerable Populations. Presented at the 2024 Journal of the Advanced Practitioner in Oncology Meeting. November 14-17, 2024; Grapevine, Texas. Abstract JL1217C.