Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #104099

Yasamin M. Brown, MPH¹, Paulette D. Stanford, MD¹, and Natalie E. Roche, MD². (1) Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, University of Medicine and Dentistry of NewJersey, 185 South Orange Avenue, Medical Science Building, Room F-580, Newark, NJ 07103, 973-204-8233, brownym04@hotmail.com, (2) Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, University of Medicine and Dentistry of NewJersey, 90 Bergen Street, Doctor’s Office Center, Suite 5100, Newark, NJ 07103

With the advent of the Papanicolou (Pap) smear screening test, cervical cancer mortality has declined in the United States however, low-income, minority women exhibit lower rates of cervical cancer screening than white women. The Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at the New Jersey Medical School developed a mobile health program- the Female Medical Examination Program (FEMEX)- to provide free pelvic exams (cervical HPV-DNA and Pap smear testing) and breast exams to adolescent girls and adult women. We conducted a retrospective descriptive study to determine the prevalence of abnormal Papanicolou (Pap) smears and risk factors for cervical cancer in our patient population. Data were abstracted from 103 medical records, the total number of females screened from January through August 2003. The subjects ranged in age from 16 to 63 years, with a median age of 33 years. Overall, 17% of the patients had abnormal Pap smear test results and 36% of the patients had a positive test for cervical HPV-DNA. Prior to their screening on the van, 35% of patients had not had a Pap smear test in over a year, 11% never had a Pap smear and 4% could not recall the date or year of their previous Pap smear. The FEMEX Program is a unique health care delivery service, which provides preventive gynecological care to an underserved, and un-, and under-insured population of women.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the key elements of a mobile health care delivery service.
• Recognize the challenges associated with operating a mobile health service in an urban setting, for underserved, and un-, and under-insured populations.
• Utilize FEMEX as a model for developing similar health care service delivery programs in urban communities.

Keywords: Cervical Cancer, Low-Income

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.