Cervical Cancer Screening and Prevention among Latinas in the U.S. among a Network of Community Health Centers

BACKGROUND: Timely cervical cancer screenings are critical for middle to older aged Latinas. However, little is currently known about screening in this population. Latinas tend to receive disproportionate care in Community Health Centers (CHCs). METHODS: Retrospective analysis of electronic health record data from a national network of US CHCs included Latinas and non-Hispanic Whites (NHW) age >45 with known birth country and at least one in-person primary care visit between 2014 and 2022, across 527 community-based clinics in 15 states. We used generalized estimating equations logistic regression to examine covariate-adjusted receipt of cytology, overall and by country of origin. RESULTS: Among 34,135 patients, Mexican Latinas had the highest unadjusted prevalence of receiving cytology or co-testing at 56% while NHWs had the lowest prevalence at 37%. We found Latina groups except for US born Latinas individually had higher odds of receiving cytology or co-testing compared to NHWs. Latina groups born in Mexico, (OR (95%CI): 1.44 (1.09, 1.90)), Honduras (OR (95%CI): 1.39 (1.06, 1.82)), El Salvador at (OR (95%CI): 1.38 (1.09, 1.73)) and Nicaragua (OR (95%CI): 1.36 (1.01, 1.83)) had higher odds than NHWs. CONCLUSION: CHCs have important strengths in reaching diverse patient populations; with higher rates of cervical cancer screening in middle to older age Latinas than NHWs. IMPACT: This study adds novel information about screening rates among a heterogeneous sample outside of their reproductive years and in a large, multistate sample of CHCs. We add to a growing body of literature about the distinctive environment of CHCs.