Evaluation of the Cancer Prevention and Treatment Demonstration for Ethnic and Racial Minorities

Anupa Bir, RTI International
Janet Mitchell, RTI International
Sonja Hoover, RTI International

Racial and ethnic disparities in cancer screening and treatment have been well documented. Minority populations are less likely to receive cancer screening tests than Whites and, as a result, are more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage cancer. Racial and ethnic minorities with positive test results are more likely to experience delays in receiving the diagnostic tests needed to confirm cancer diagnoses. Although the ability to pay is one of the explanatory factors, similar disparities have been found among Medicare beneficiaries. To address this problem, Congress mandated that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services conduct demonstrations of patient navigation aimed at reducing disparities in screening, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer among racial and ethnic minority Medicare-insured beneficiaries. We present the results of a randomized, multi-site evaluation of the impact of patient navigation of cancer screening rates.