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Improving Cervical Cancer Care Through Federal Partnerships

The HRSA Office of Women's Health (OWH) works to improve cervical cancer care. OWH is a partner in the Federal Cervical Cancer Collaborative (FCCC). The FCCC supports the Cancer Moonshot℠(link is external) and the National Cancer Plan(link is external). The FCCC strives to improve access to cervical cancer services.

What is the FCCC?

The FCCC is a multi-year partnership among federal agencies. We work to improve cancer research and health care delivery. The FCCC is the first partnership formed across HHS to improve cervical cancer care in safety-net settings.

What is a safety-net setting?

It is a place where people with limited or no insurance can receive care. People who are low-income can access services, as well.

These settings include:

  • HRSA Health Center Program sites and Federally Qualified Health Centers
  • Critical Access Hospitals
  • Rural Health Clinics
  • Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program providers
  • National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program sites
  • Title X clinics

What's the state of cervical cancer in the U.S.?

Cervical cancer is highly preventable and highly curable if found early. As reported by the CDC(link is external), the United States, every year:

  • About 200,000 people are diagnosed with cervical pre-cancer.
  • Roughly 12,500 people are diagnosed with cervical cancer.
  • Approximately 4,000 will die of this cancer.

Studies show that cervical cancer death rates declined over the last 40 years(link is external). This is due to improving care. Vaccines protect us from the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is a common virus that causes up to 90% of cervical cancers. Screening identifies abnormal cells before they turn into cancer.

As reported by the NIH(link is external), more than half of all new cervical cancers are diagnosed in women who have never been screened or have not been screened in the previous five years. In 2019, the percentage of women overdue for a cervical cancer screening was 23 percent. Research also indicates that the most common reason for being overdue for cervical cancer screening was an individual’s lack of knowledge that they needed screening. Increasing awareness and addressing patient education are critical to help prevent cervical cancer.

What will the FCCC do to reduce rates of cervical cancer?

Our work improves care in safety-net settings through:

  • Technical assistance
  • Policies and programs
  • Outreach and education

What training is available for providers?

In 2024, the FCCC launched CERV-Net, a cervical cancer ECHO learning series for safety-net settings. The goal of this series is to empower providers to improve cervical cancer care. We will share future trainings in the OWH Updates Newsletter. Subscribe to sign up(link is external).

What research has the FCCC led?

Roundtable series

From 2022 to 2023, experts met nine times for a roundtable series.

The group included:

  • Primary care providers
  • Oncologists
  • Patient navigators and advocates
  • Researchers
  • Members of government

These experts shared details about the current state of cervical cancer care. They discussed challenges, areas of potential growth, and innovations. The group identified best practices for providers. They outlined ways to work in unison on a federal level. We created resources from the roundtable series.

Who are the FCCC's federal partners?

Related resources

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