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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.?

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

Why is equitable cervical cancer care important?

Some people have less access to vaccines, screening, and treatment. This can happen for a range of reasons.

Less access to health resources and care impacts:

  • People experiencing poverty
  • People who live in rural areas
  • People of color
  • People with disabilities
  • Transgender and gender nonbinary people

Equitable cancer care reduces disparities to ensure everyone can access health care.

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 two toolkits from the roundtable series.

Who are the FCCC's federal partners?

Related resources

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