Sheltered yet unscreened: Exploring cancer screening rates and barriers in the unhoused (homeless) population

IF 2.7 3区医学 Q1 SURGERY

American journal of surgery Pub Date : 2025-03-04 DOI:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2025.116289

Talal Al-Assil , Claire Kalina , Madison C. Laird , Ryan C. Olivier , Nataly Dawood , Neya Suresh Kumar , Raven Riordan , Saad Shebrain , Cheryl Dickson , Gitonga Munene

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction

Cancer related mortality amongst the homeless and unhoused has been reported to be significantly higher than the housed population. This study explores cancer screening uptake and barriers in a homeless community in Michigan.

Methods

Questionnaires were administered at two homeless shelters focusing on Hepatitis C (HCV), lung, breast, colon, and cervical cancer screenings.

Results

Amongst 143 participants, rates of screening uptake were lowest for breast cancer (44 %), followed by colorectal cancer (45 %), HCV (55 %), and cervical cancer (79 %). The three most common barriers to receiving screenings were lack of transportation (21.8 %), lack of access to or awareness of screenings (20.5 %), and low prioritization of health compared to other insecurities faced while being homeless (17.9 %).

Conclusions

Enhancing the unhoused/homeless community's access to cancer screenings is crucial. High willingness to undergo screenings suggests potential targeted interventions, such as providing transportation tokens and comprehensive educational resources, onsite screenings, and potentially employing social work navigators at shelters.

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来源期刊

American journal of surgery 医学-外科

CiteScore

5.00

自引率

6.70%

发文量

570

审稿时长

56 days

期刊介绍： The American Journal of Surgery® is a peer-reviewed journal designed for the general surgeon who performs abdominal, cancer, vascular, head and neck, breast, colorectal, and other forms of surgery. AJS is the official journal of 7 major surgical societies* and publishes their official papers as well as independently submitted clinical studies, editorials, reviews, brief reports, correspondence and book reviews.