Preventive Health Screenings Continue to Lag Post-Pandemic: Daily Dose

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Patient Care brings primary care clinicians a lot of medical news every day—it’s easy to miss an important study. The Daily Dose provides a concise summary of one of the website's leading stories you may not have seen.

Last week, we reported on findings from a study published in JAMA Health Forum that examined health care access and preventive health screenings among eligible US adults in 2021 and 2022 compared with 2019, overall and by race and ethnicity.

The study

Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study using data from 89 130 adults who participated in the National Health Interview Survey in 2021 and 2022. They analyzed measures of health care access and preventive health screenings.

Measures of health care access included the proportion of adults with a usual place for care, those with a wellness visit, and those who delayed or did not receive medical care due to cost within the past year. Preventive health screening measures included eligible adults who received blood pressure (BP), cholesterol, or blood glucose screening within the past year (2021), as well as colorectal, cervical, breast, and prostate cancer screenings based on US Preventive Services Task Force guidelines, according to the study.

The findings

Investigators found that there were fewer outpatient wellness visits in 2020 vs 2019. Also, screening rates for BP, cholesterol, blood glucose, and common cancers (eg, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, cervical cancer) were lower in 2021 compared with 2019, and varied across racial and ethnic groups.

Authors' comment

"These findings support the need for public health efforts to increase the use of preventive health screenings among eligible US adults."

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