Female preventive health care : An analysis of Every woman matters program
Review the article &q Improving Female Preventive Health care Delivery Through
Practice Change”.
Using credible websites, identify at least two successful advocacy programs for early cancer
screening and evaluate the characteristics that made them effective based on the evidence
presented on the website.
Then write a 4 page essay to:
1) Summarize the Every Woman Matters program and how the issue of women’s
preventive health care was approached. Analyze possible reasons the program was
ineffective.
2) Summarize the characteristics of at least two programs that advocate for early cancer
screening, describing what made them successful.
3) If you were the leader in charge of developing a follow-up to the Every Woman Matters
program, what strategies would you propose for creating a more effective prevention
program?
Every Woman Matters Program
A summary of the Program
In the healthcare system, the cliché “prevention is better than cure” is probably best appreciated
by oncologists as well as other stakeholders who understand and appreciate the dynamics of the
different forms of cancer that afflict patients across the board. The Every Woman Matters
program, EWM in Nebraska is a governmentsponsored healthcare initiative that focuses on the
early screening for Breastandcervical Cancer in women who are drawn from low income
populations. The methods of screening for cervical and breast cancer are the pap smear and
mammograms respectively. The female population targeted by this program is encouraged to
visit select clinics where they are entitled to receive the servicesat no cost due to their inability to
pay for the much neededservices. This program however not managed to achieve its set targets as
a result ofopposition from private practices which prior to the initiative’s commencement were
overwhelmed by tight schedules they had (Feresu et al, 2008).
There is a large uninsured population and an equally alarming number of individuals who are
unaware of the existent early-detection strategies that are literally going door to door begging
women to sign up. Thewell mobiles in Marylandand the‘mobile mammography units in Florida’
are two good examples of such initiatives that move from locale to locale providing women with
early screening for breast and cervical cancer.
The Mobile Mammography Units in Florida
As the title of this initiative suggests, the entireoperation is mobile and this implies moving
around the select localeswith the aim of bringing the much needed screening facilities nearer the
targeted women who are supposed to undergo breast cancer screening. This operation is made
possible by the use of a coach that has been modified and converted into acomplete radiology
clinic that accommodates qualified healthcare personnel on board. Since accuracy is the key in
screening of women for breast cancer, mammograms which are the most reliable method are
used here. The modus operandi of these mobile clinics is primarily through appointments that
have been booked over the phone. Allowances for walk-in patients are also allowed subject to
how much space is available between the bookings.The need to have as wide a reach as possible
necessitates this program’s catering for both the insured and the uninsured with the former being
advised to carry the medical information that has been recorded to their preferred healthcare
establishments so as to ensure continuity of the efforts that have been made (Lee et a, 2010).
After seven to ten days, results of the tests that have been carried out are delivered to the
patients’ appointed physicians. Payments for these services can be paid through insurance and
for those who are paying cash there is a 150 dollar discount is given. The women who have
undergone previous mammography screenings are expected to mention this and if possible give
the details of the previous providers of the services when they visit these facilities (Radiology
Regional Centre, 2012). The increased success that this program has been experiencing can be
attributed to the prioritization of professionalism during the planning, implementation and also
follow-up activities (Heller et al, 2004).
The Governor’s Well-mobile program in Maryland
One thing that this program has in common with the above program running in Florida is the fact
that it targets women who are medically insured as well as those who do not have access or
cannot afford medical insurance. It should however be noted that majority of the women who
seek these services are those who are under-insured or plainly uninsured thus denying them
entitlement to access to ambulatory services.This initiative makes use of four vans that move
place to place in a strategic manner so as to cover as much ground as possible. The planning and
coordination of this early screening initiative is conducted by the school of Nursing- Baltimore in
theUniversity of Maryland.The ground team is me up ofseveral registered nurses, bilingual
outreach workers and a group of professional drivers. Each of the vans is equipped with two
examination rooms and also laboratory plus an intake room where the people who came calling
are given counseling as well as information on the screening and the dynamics of the illnesses
being looked out for.
The City of Baltimore has always had a recurrent unemployment burdenand this is the main
reason for a large uninsured population. The above program is only meant to be a short term
mitigatory initiative to help deal with the matter at hand while a lasting solution is being
sought.This program is different from the above one in that it does not exclusively deal with
ecological screening for women. It also offers men screening for sexually transmitted
diseases.The routine checkups also cater for children in the area (Eason, 2009). This program’s
success comes from the fact that it targets a wide scope of patients and not just women (Jani et
al, 2012).
Proposed strategies to be used in the everywoman matters program
If a follow up program to the Every Woman Matters initiative is to be more effective it is
imperative that people in charge of organizing it take into their consideration the complexities
that come with the involvement of private practices given the fact that they are more widespread
thus making it easier to access the members of the community (Backer et al, 2005). It may also
become necessary to highlight the non- medical advantages of this screening such as financial
savings and also a better quality life. The savings will be realized through the treatment of these
conditions while they are in their early stages (Schwarts, 2010). The placement of the personnel
who are to be involved also needs to be done strategically with respect to their areas of
specialization. The public sensitization needs to be done by healthcare while the actual ground
works and interaction with patients’ needs to be left to the preventive care specialists (Tenglang,
2010). This will guarantee higher numbers of women reached and quality healthcare services for
them.
Conclusion
The task of looking after the vulnerable members is best met by society itself which should
willfully shoulder the burden. With respect to this study, this refers to uninsured women who fall
into the low income bracket. Their condition locks them out of the existent mainstream programs
carrying out early screening for breastandcervical cancers. With that said it is necessary to
applaud successful programs such as the Every Woman Matters program in Nebraska, Florida’s
mobile mammography trucksas well as the Well-mobile initiative. Other states should follow suit
by coming up with refined versions of these programs so as to continue with the effort to save
the lives of vulnerable women.
References
Backer, E. L., Geske, J. A., McIlvain, H. E., Dodendorf, D. M., &Minier, W. C. (2005).
Improving female preventive health care delivery through practice change: An Every Woman
Matters study. Journal of the American Board of Family Practice, 18(5), 401–408.
Eason, N. (2009) Wellmobile serves uninsured and under insured