72 Million American Women Have Skipped or Delayed Vital Screenings
New Survey Reveals Women Struggle to
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240709118503/en/
Hologic Global Women's Health Index - United States Data Report (Graphic: Business Wire)
The nationally representative study, commissioned by Hologic and conducted by Gallup, reveals a vast “Screening Action Gap.” Although women overwhelmingly say regular health screenings are important, an estimated 72 million have skipped or delayed a recommended screening. These missed screenings include those for significant health conditions like breast, cervical and colorectal cancers, which together kill more than 70,000
The survey asked 4,001 women about their experiences and perspectives on health. It builds on the annual Hologic Global Women’s Health Index, which captures the views of women and girls from more than 140 countries.
“We choose to put energy and resources behind the Global Women’s Health Index because you can only improve what’s measured,” said
Key findings of the
-
The Screening Action Gap: While 90% of women recognize the importance of regular health screenings, more than 40% have skipped or delayed a recommended test.
- Women are most likely to have skipped screenings for breast (41%), cervical (35%) and colorectal (33%) cancers.
- Women’s main reasons for skipping or delaying a recommended screening include not knowing the screening was necessary or important for them (24%), anxiety about tests (20%), lack of time (20%) or concerns about pain or discomfort (17%).
- Compared to women of other races, Black women were much more likely to say screenings are very important to them — and much less likely to say they have skipped or delayed a screening.
-
Drivers of the Screening Action Gap:
- Lack of information: Only about 4 in 10 women say they are “very confident” in knowing which screenings they need based on their age and risk factors. More broadly, many women — including 3 in 10 adult Gen Z women and just under 1 in 4 Millennials — say it’s hard for them to find the health information they need.
- Lack of communication with healthcare professionals: Women who discuss screenings with healthcare professionals are more likely to get screened. However, these crucial conversations about screenings often do not occur. For example, among women ages 35 and over — the recommended age group for skin cancer screening — only about half said they have spoken to a healthcare professional about getting screened for skin cancer, and even fewer have been screened.
- Emotional health: More than 6 in 10 women, including 75% of women with children in their home, say it is hard to make their health a top priority. Among these women, the top two barriers are feeling overwhelmed (72%) and emotional health (60%).
To see the full survey and related resources, visit WomensHealthIndex.com/Hologic-US-Health-Survey.
About
For more information about the company, visit www.Hologic.com.
Hologic and The Science of Sure are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of
About Gallup
Gallup delivers analytics and advice to help leaders and organizations solve their most pressing problems. Combining more than 80 years of experience with its global reach, Gallup knows more about the attitudes and behaviors of employees, customers, students and citizens than any other organization in the world.
SOURCE:
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240709118503/en/
Media Contact
Director, Corporate Communications
(+1) 508.263.8654
bridget.perry@hologic.com
Investor Contact
Vice President, Investor Relations
(+1) 858.410.8514
ryan.simon@hologic.com
Source: