Cancer Screening Prevalence among Participants in the Southcentral Alaska Education and Research towards Health (EARTH) Study at Baseline and Follow-Up

Lauren C. Smayda (), Gretchen M. Day, Diana G. Redwood, Julie A. Beans, Vanessa Y. Hiratsuka, Sarah H. Nash and Kathryn R. Koller
Additional contact information
Lauren C. Smayda: Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Anchorage, AK 99508, USA
Gretchen M. Day: Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Anchorage, AK 99508, USA
Diana G. Redwood: Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Anchorage, AK 99508, USA
Julie A. Beans: Southcentral Foundation, Anchorage, AK 99508, USA
Vanessa Y. Hiratsuka: Center for Human Development, College of Health, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 99508, USA
Sarah H. Nash: Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
Kathryn R. Koller: Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Anchorage, AK 99508, USA

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 16, 1-14

Abstract: Alaska Native communities are working to prevent cancer through increased cancer screening and early detection. We examined the prevalence of self-reported colorectal (CRC), cervical, and breast cancer screening among Alaska Native participants in the southcentral Alaska Education and Research toward Health (EARTH) study at baseline (2004–2006) and ten-year follow-up (2015–2017); participant characteristics associated with screening; and changes in screening prevalence over time. A total of 385 participants completed questionnaires at follow-up; 72% were women. Of those eligible for CRC screening, 53% of follow-up participants reported a CRC screening test within the past 5 years, significantly less than at baseline (70%) ( p = 0.02). There was also a significant decline in cervical cancer screening between baseline and follow-up: 73% of women at follow-up vs. 90% at baseline reported screening within the past three years ( p < 0.01). There was no significant difference in reported breast cancer screening between baseline (78%) and follow-up (77%). Colorectal and cervical cancer screening prevalence in an urban, southcentral Alaska Native cohort declined over 10 years of follow-up. Increased cancer screening and prevention are needed to decrease Alaska Native cancer-related morbidity and mortality.

Keywords: Alaska native; cancer; longitudinal; cohort study; colorectal cancer; breast cancer; cervical cancer; screening; prevention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/16/6596/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/16/6596/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:16:p:6596-:d:1219769

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().