August 2026 · Volume 2
Cancer Screening Connection
Improving Cancer Screening Across Health Centers
Partnering to strengthen cancer screening in health centers
Welcome
Welcome to the August issue of Cancer Screening Connection! As families prepare for a new school year, it’s a great time to focus on preventive care for everyone. This month, we highlight ways health centers can help patients get back on track with cancer screening.
Featured Article
Back-to-School, Back-to-Screening: A Reminder for the Whole Family
As families prepare for a new school year, August is a natural time to focus on health and preventive care. While back-to-school often centers on children’s checkups and vaccinations, it’s also a reminder for adults to stay current on recommended cancer screenings.
Routine screening helps detect certain cancers early, when treatment is often most effective. Yet many adults delay screenings because of busy schedules, competing responsibilities, transportation challenges, or uncertainty about when they are due.
Health centers can use this seasonal reminder to encourage preventive care. Whether patients come in for a school physical, chronic disease management, or an annual wellness visit, every encounter is an opportunity to assess screening needs and connect eligible patients with recommended cancer screenings.
Turning Routine Visits into Better Screening Opportunities
Health centers already play a critical role in identifying patients due for cancer screenings. The next step is improving screening completion by strengthening workflows, reducing challenges, and engaging patients throughout the screening process.
The Improving Cancer Screening Across the Health Center Initiative provides practical strategies, peer learning, and technical assistance to help health centers enhance existing efforts, close care gaps, and improve screening outcomes.
Supporting Patients Beyond the Clinic
Cancer screening doesn’t end with a recommendation. Patients may face challenges such as transportation, competing priorities, or difficulty navigating referrals that prevent them from completing recommended screenings.
Through webinars, Communities of Practice, technical assistance, and implementation resources, the Initiative helps health centers identify practical solutions, learn from peer organizations, and strengthen follow-up processes that support patients from recommendation to completion.
Resource Spotlight
Resources to Support Your Work
Health centers don’t have to do this work alone. These resources can help teams identify patients due for screening, improve outreach efforts, and strengthen follow-up care.
Resource
Evidence-Based Intervention Planning Guides
Planning guides from CDC help clinic staff implement evidence-based interventions to increase cancer screening.
Resource
CPSTF Findings for Cancer Prevention and Control
Intervention approaches reviewed by the Community Preventive Services Task Force, with summaries of each finding.
Upcoming Events
Continue learning with us
August 12, 2026 · 12:00–1:00 p.m. ET
Turning Conversations into Action: Advanced Motivational Interviewing Strategies for Health Care Professionals
September 16, 2026 · 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. ET
Going Beyond “Grade C”: An Updated Rubric for Prostate Cancer Screening in the Primary Care Setting
Stay Connected. Take Action.
Looking for support? Visit the Event Calendar or Request Technical Assistance.
This newsletter was produced for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Bureau of Primary Health Care, under contract number 47QTCA22D007G. This publication may reference non-federal resources to provide additional information to consumers. Neither HHS nor HRSA has formally approved the non-federal resources in this newsletter. Listing these is not an endorsement by HHS or HRSA. This newsletter is for informational and quality-improvement purposes only and does not represent HRSA policy, requirements, or performance standards.