Women of racial and ethnic minorities have the lowest adherence to breast cancer screening programs, according to a study published in Cancers. Researchers explored barriers that affect adherence to breast cancer screening programs in vulnerable populations according to race and/or ethnicity in a systematic review of publications. Most studies presented common barriers including race/ ethnicity, low socioeconomic level, low education level, no family history of cancer and being single, medical mistrust and a health information gap, lack of private insurance, and not having annual health checks (47%, 35.3%, 29.4%, 29.4%, 23.5%, 17.6%, and 17.6%, respectively). Black, Asian, Hispanic, and foreign women were the target populations with the lowest adherence. “Dissemination of breast cancer screening programs is still lacking in most of the vulnerable populations,” a coauthor said in a statement. “But we observed important favorable changes in those cases in which the population undergoes health education sessions, they are informed about cancer screening programs, or they seek medical attention.”
