Women’s Health Partnership is a collection of women’s health programs that offer screenings, education and training to low-income women. These health programs are Every Woman Counts (EWC) and Community Mammography Access Project (CMAP).
Community Mammography Access Project (CMAP)
Overview
CMAP uses a community-based medical model linking community health centers (CHCs) within Community Health Partnership’s (CHP) consortium to coordinate mammography and patient navigation services. The project focuses on primary and secondary prevention services to reduce health care access barriers to breast cancer screening. The approach to addressing the breast cancer care continuum is to work within and link women to the CHP network of CHCs and county health care systems by providing:
- Provider training to monitor and increase breast cancer screening rates,
- Patient navigation services and
- Community outreach and health education in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.
The CMAP delivery model includes three key partners: Community Health Partnership, Santa Clara County CHCs, and the Santa Clara Valley Health and Hospital System.
Goal
The goal of CMAP is to increase access to mammography services by addressing barriers to screening and treatment services in order to reduce late stage breast cancer diagnosis among medically underserved women in Santa Clara County.
Objectives
- To provide culturally and linguistically appropriate breast health education, screening, referral, and patient navigation services
- To work in collaboration with the network of CHCs and the existing safety net of health care providers in Santa Clara County
History
CMAP started in 2001 when Santa Clara County (SCC) Supervisor Liz Kniss referred to county administration to establish a private/public group named The Breast Health Collaborative to conduct research to assess the provision of early detection services in breast care in the county. In part, this was in response to the increasing number of low-income, underinsured/uninsured women eligible for breast cancer screening through indigent programs like the state funded Every Woman Counts program. The assessment found three primary barriers to early detection: (1) language and cultural barriers prevented women from seeking care in SCC; since, the Asian and Latino populations continue to grow, (2) there was a lack of mammography screening access at non-hospital locations, and (3) agencies that provided services needed support in this type of care; specifically, there was a lack of adequate funding.
Contact
For more information about the Community Mammography Access Project, please call 408-579-6005 or email Julia Barba, MPH, Director of Community Programs: julia@chpscc.org.