Because local cancer screening services frequently are not available in rural locations, many persons need to travel great distances to medical facilities for screening. Lower levels of education, income and health insurance coverage among rural residents and minority group members serve as additional barriers to cancer screening. However, no studies using nationally representative data have explored whether persons residing in remote rural locations fare worse on cancer screening, and few studies have examined the issue of cancer screening among rural minority group members. For this study, non-public use data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) were used to explore the prevalence and trends of screening for four types of cancer (colorectal, breast, cervical, and prostate). The study compared screening rates by state among various levels of rural versus urban BRFSS respondents and among white respondents versus those from racial/ethnic minority groups. Analyses are complete and the study will be published in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.

Publications

• Trends in Cervical and Breast Cancer Screening Practices Among Women in Rural and Urban Areas of the United States
  Policy Brief
  WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 08/2008
  This policy brief documents the receipt of timely breast and cervical cancer screening using a rural-urban classification system and nationally representative data.
• Trends in Cervical and Breast Cancer Screening Practices Among Women in Rural and Urban Areas of the United States (Final Report)
  WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 08/2008
  This policy brief reports on trends in breast cancer screening practices. Participation in mammography improved nationally, but women living in rural locations remained less likely to receive the test than those living in urban settings.