Cancer Screening Connection
Welcome
Welcome to the first issue of the Cancer Screening Connection newsletter. A monthly newsletter for health centers, rural health clinics, and partners to help improve cancer screening.
We’re excited to share this new resource with HRSA-supported health centers, Primary Care Associations (PCAs), Health Center Controlled Networks (HCCNs), Rural Health Associations, and our partners. Our goal is to share information, tools, and ideas that support cancer screening efforts and help improve patient outcomes.
Cancer screening saves lives. Finding cancer early allows treatment to work better. Early detection can give patients more options for care. Health centers play a key role in improving access to cancer screening. They help patients get screened, understand their options, and address barriers that may prevent them from receiving care.
This newsletter is designed to support your work. Each issue will include information and resources that you can use. We will feature articles on screening, prevention, and other topics that support patient outcomes.
You will find upcoming events, helpful tools, and practical resources. We will share highlights from recent learning sessions and updates from our partners. You’ll read real-world examples from health centers across the country.
Improving cancer screening takes teamwork. We all have something to learn from one another. By sharing what works, we can help more people get screened and find cancer earlier. These efforts can lead to better health outcomes for the communities we serve.
Thank you for the work you do every day to support patients and communities. We look forward to working with you and learning from you along the way.
Thank you,
HRSA Accelerating Cancer Screening Technical Assistance Team
Featured Learning Opportunity
Rural communities continue to face significant barriers to timely cancer screening and follow-up care, including geographic isolation, workforce shortages, transportation challenges, fragmented referral systems, and limited access to specialty services. These barriers contribute to delayed diagnoses and ongoing differences in breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer outcomes.
This six-session Community of Practice (CoP) is designed to help HRSA-supported health centers identify and address workflow inefficiencies, strengthen community partnerships, and implement practical strategies that can be expanded over time to improve cancer screening participation and patient follow-up among rural and populations with lower screening rates.
Through peer learning, expert facilitation, case-based discussions, and action-oriented planning, participants will explore innovative approaches, including Rapid Improvement Events (RIEs), Find, Organize, Clarify, Understand, Select-Plan, Do, Study, Act (FOCUS-PDSA) model quality improvement cycles, mobile outreach models, responsible use of Artificial Intelligence-supported patient engagement, and community-driven screening initiatives.
Goals
By participating in this CoP, participants will:
- Identify operational and workflow barriers impacting cancer screening in rural settings
- Apply rapid-cycle improvement strategies to strengthen screening workflows
- Explore innovative outreach models, including mobile screening and AI-supported engagement
- Strengthen community partnerships that improve access to preventive care
- Learn scalable strategies to sustain and spread successful screening interventions
- Collaborate with peer organizations facing similar rural healthcare challenges
Session Schedule
| Week | Date | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jun 24 | Rural Realities: Understanding Barriers to Screening Access |
| 2 | Jul 1 | Rapid Improvement in Action: FOCUS-PDSA & Kaizen |
| 3 | Jul 8 | Beyond the Clinic Walls: Community Partnerships |
| 4 | Jul 15 | Technology, AI & Automation: Expanding Rural Reach |
| 5 | Jul 22 | Mobile Screening & Alternative Care Delivery |
| 6 | Jul 29 | Embedding Rural Screening Improvements into Practice |
Cohort Details
Dates: June 24 – July 29, 2026
Time: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. ET
Format: Six weekly virtual sessions
Who Should Attend: HRSA-supported health centers
Registration: One registration provides access to the entire six-week cohort.
Upcoming Webinar
Turning Conversations into Action
Advanced MI Strategies for Healthcare Professionals
Date & Time: August 12, 2026 – 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. ET
This advanced Motivational Interviewing (MI) webinar is designed for clinicians and healthcare professionals who already understand foundational MI concepts and are ready to deepen their skills. Building on core principles such as Open-ended questions, Affirming, Reflective listening, Summarizing (OARS), stages of change, and the spirit of MI, participants will learn how to strategically recognize and amplify change talk, skillfully respond to sustain talk, and guide patients toward meaningful, self-directed action. Special emphasis is placed on using the Desire, Ability, Reasons, Need-Commitment, Activation, Taking Steps (DARN-CAT) framework, advanced reflective listening techniques, importance and confidence scaling, and collaborative action planning to improve patient engagement and follow-through in brief clinical encounters. Participants will leave with practical strategies to transform difficult conversations into opportunities for lasting behavior change.
- Differentiate and strategically respond to change talk, sustain talk, and discord using advanced reflective listening techniques and the DARN-CAT framework.
- Apply evocative MI strategies-including importance/confidence scaling, values exploration, and double-sided reflections-to strengthen patient motivation and resolve ambivalence.
- Use advanced reinforcement techniques such as complex reflections, targeted affirmations, and strategic summaries to amplify commitment language and enhance self-efficacy.
- Facilitate patient-generated action planning by translating motivation into Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely (SMART) goals and realistic next steps that increase adherence and long-term behavior change.
Intended Audience: Staff and leaders at HRSA-supported health centers who are working to increase cancer screening rates and improve patient care.
Protect Your Skin This Summer
Summer is a great time to enjoy the outdoors, but it is also a good reminder to protect your skin. July is UV Safety Month, making it the perfect opportunity for health centers to encourage patients to reduce their risk of skin cancer while staying healthy and active.
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, with more than 5 million new cases diagnosed each year.1 Most cases are linked to exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun or indoor tanning devices.3 The good news is that many skin cancers can be prevented, and early detection can lead to better outcomes.
Types of Skin Cancer:
The two most common types of skin cancer are basal and squamous cell carcinoma.2 While these cancers are highly treatable when detected early, they can cause significant damage if left untreated. Melanoma is less common but causes almost all skin cancer deaths.2 Although melanoma accounts for a small percentage of all skin cancer cases, it causes the majority of skin cancer deaths, making early dictation especially important.
How Health Centers Can Help
- Wear broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher.
- Wear hats, sunglasses, and protective clothing when outdoors.
- Seek shade under an umbrella, tree, or other shelter.
- Avoid indoor tanning.
Take Action This Month
Learn More
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Health and Economic Benefits of Skin Cancer Interventions
- National Cancer Institute: Skin Cancer
- American Cancer Society: Skin Cancer
1American Cancer Society: Skin Cancer Facts & Figures in Brief.
2American Cancer Society: Skin Cancer Fact Sheet for Patients and Caregivers.
3Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Skin Cancer Basics.
4Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Reducing Risk for Skin Cancer.
Health Center Spotlight
Coming Soon: Celebrating Health Center Successes
Share Your Story
Has your health center:
- Increased screening rates?
- Improved patient outreach?
- Developed a solution to overcome screening barriers?
- We would love to feature your success story in an upcoming newsletter.
- Submit your story, lessons learned, or creative solutions to the Technical Assistance Team.
To submit a story, please email HRSA_cancerTA@veritasmanagementgroup.com.
Webinar Recap
Closing the Screening Gap: How Digital Engagement and Behavioral Science Can Move the Needle at Community Health Centers
Featured Speaker: Clark Lagemann, CEO, Avidon
Session Highlights
Key Takeaways
- It's a systems problem, not a patient problem. Biases like status quo and present bias explain why patients who intend to get screened never follow through.
- Proven interventions work. Patient navigation, mailed FIT kits, opt-out scheduling, and culturally competent outreach are evidence-backed ways to lift screening rates.
- Start where you are. A Crawl–Walk–Run framework helps centers assess digital engagement readiness and apply AI tools like predictive analytics at their own pace.
Resource Spotlight
Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub)
The Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) provides resources and tools to support efforts to improve rural health.
These resources can help rural health clinics:
- address challenges
- Improve access to care
- Strengthen care coordination
- Support quality improvement
Partner Updates
Learning Portal Now Available!
The HRSA Accelerating Cancer Screening Technical Assistance Team has launched a new online portal. It will provide partners with access to:
- Recorded webinars
- Technical assistance materials
- Newsletters