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Aetna's
Women's Health Launches Breast Health Disparity Initiative
 Women's
Health has launched a breast health initiative that
targets specific minority populations with high breast
cancer mortality rates. The program employs targeted
outreach to African-American and Hispanic/Latina women
to address individual barriers to obtaining annual mammography
screenings.
 "Studies
have shown that minority women have several barriers
that prevent them from getting an annual mammogram,"
explained Marie Wilson, R.N., director of the program.
"These barriers contribute to lower screening rates
and higher mortality rates from breast cancer for the
African-American and Hispanic/Latina community. Our
breast health initiative enables us to identify women
in this high-risk group and provide education regarding
the benefits of using mammography as a screening tool
in the fight against breast cancer. In addition, the
program's targeted outreach capabilities and integration
model will enable us to screen members for other medical
conditions and, as appropriate, direct them to Aetna's
disease management programs and other wellness initiatives."
According
to the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer
Society, barriers to mammography for African-American
and Hispanic/Latina women include lack of awareness
about the benefits of mammography, access to care issues,
fear of cancer detection, language barriers and cultural
beliefs that may be inconsistent with preventive care.
The
new program uses data from Aetna Integrated Informatics
(AetInfo) to identify African-American and Hispanic/Latina
women 40 and older who have not obtained their annual
screening mammograms as recommended by the American
Cancer Society. Members who are identified will receive
targeted telephone outreach by Deborah Dutton, R.N.,
a bilingual Women's Health nurse case manager, who will
discuss the importance of mammography screening and
address the members' individual risk factors and barriers.
The program also will assist members in identifying
facilities for screening and provide follow-up calls
to encourage compliance. All program materials are available
in both English and Spanish.
"This
initiative builds on our existing programs that target
ethnic disparities in health care," added Cheryl
Pegus, M.D., MPH, national medical director for Women's
Health. "We will utilize outreach capabilities
by telephone and culturally appropriate educational
mailings to assist our members and health care professionals,
with the overall goal of positively affecting health
outcomes for this segment of the population."
Women's
Health acknowledges the following individuals, for their
collaboration to the program's development and implementation:
AetInfo team members Scott Wilkie, Claire Spettel and
Paula Kummer; and Women's Health's Eileen McCauley and
Kathleen Ashton.
2/04
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