Bringing health screenings and care to Floridians, UF researchers help mitigate disease among the underserved
Health and household incomes are often inextricably linked. This is a life-and-death reality for people experiencing poverty in Florida, when financial woes prevent them from affording the screenings and treatments they need.
Close to half the households in the state are struggling to make financial ends meet, according to a 2024 report from the United Way. The annual ALICE report — which stands for Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed — tracks the number of households that fall above the federal poverty level but make less than what it takes to live comfortably locally. Data show that 46% of Florida households — more than 4 million households — are straining to pay for necessities such as food, transportation, and rent. Because of this, health care is often an afterthought.
But forward thinkers at the University of Florida — from cancer researchers to students pursuing careers in pharmacy and dentistry — are working to help ease this burden. They are delivering the power of preventative health care directly to the people — people in underserved and rural communities who otherwise wouldn’t have access to lifesaving resources.
Combating cancer throughout Florida
Breast cancer continues to be pervasive statewide. To further educate and treat the public about this disease, in late October, the UF Health Cancer Center launched a 40-foot-long mobile cancer screening bus that will expand access to cancer screenings and essential health care services — including 3D mammograms and colon, prostate cancer, and cervical screenings.
Known as the Mobile Cancer Screening Connector, it is the first of its kind in North Central Florida, and it will serve a region larger than Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts combined. The unit will help eliminate people’s barriers to health care, such as transportation and time away from work. These barriers place a serious burden on residents of the largely rural region of North Central Florida, where many people lack access to screenings.
Studies show that mobile mammography services are effective in reaching underserved communities. In the Cancer Center’s service area, 15 of the 23 counties have mammogram rates below the state average. All 15 of these rural counties have rates of advanced-stage diagnosis — cancers that are the hardest to treat — higher than the state’s rate.
“By offering several types of cancer screening services in one place, we will use the Connector to reach more people, encouraging community members to get multiple cancer screenings closer to where they live and to bring their friends and family to get screened, too,” said Ramzi Salloum, Ph.D., the Cancer Center’s associate director for community outreach and engagement.
Pamela Burnett — a breast cancer survivor who lives in Deltona, Florida — knows the importance of early detection. She is the founder of The Beautiful Gate Cancer Support & Resource Center and creator of MASS: Mammograms After Sunday/Spiritual Service, the signature breast health education and screening program of the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation. The Cancer Center has partnered with the program for years to host mammography clinics. Burnett said the Connector will strengthen personal relationships that are crucial for effectively educating people about cancer.
“We are looking forward to engaging communities at high risk for late-stage breast cancer and building trust,” Burnett said. “It’s a community effort, and it’s about all of us providing these services together.”
Making statewide pharmacy care accessible
Individuals throughout the state are often faced with having to choose between paying for prescriptions or providing for their families. But UF pharmacists may be key to helping lessen this problem.
At UF, 100% of pharmacy students have completed at least one Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences rotation at a clinical site in a medically underserved area — putting in 262,080 hours in Florida communities. These students offer point-of-care testing in community and clinic settings, and they are able to fill in the gaps created by health care provider shortages.
“Our hope is that our students recognize the important role that a pharmacist can have in the lives of these patient populations,” said Stacey Curtis, B.Pharm., Pharm.D., C.Ph., a clinical associate professor and the assistant dean for experiential education in the College of Pharmacy. “For those who have limited access to primary health care, pharmacists are readily available in those areas to help provide that care.”
Curtis said this critical exposure encourages students to develop not just an understanding of the factors contributing to health inequity, but also a commitment to rectifying these imbalances.
Providing dental care for the underserved
Tooth pain is one of the main health-related reasons young children miss school. People with disabilities often require specialized treatment for oral health. These individuals, particularly those in underserved or rural areas, need better solutions when it comes to dental care.
To this end, the UF College of Dentistry has launched multiple community-based dental care programs in Florida.
The Saving Smiles Program, for example, is a collaboration between UF Health, the UF College of Dentistry, the Rotary Club of Gainesville, and the Children’s Trust of Alachua County. It promotes children’s oral health by offering free, on-site preventive and limited dental care through collaborations with community funding partners.
The Mobile Dental Outreach at Arc of Alachua County has a similar aim. In this program, the UF College of Dentistry and the Arc of Alachua County partner to provide oral health screenings and prevention-focused dental care to adults with special health care needs in North Central Florida. This outreach enhances access to oral health care for people with intellectual, developmental, or acquired disabilities.
Programs like these are motivating UF students and alumni to go into underserved communities and offer personalized help to patients. Aspiring dentist Ryan Jin, who graduated from UF in 2024, knows this firsthand. Jin’s work as a volunteer dental assistant at ACORN Clinic in Brooker, Florida — which offers dental care to rural, North Central Florida residents, regardless of their ability to pay — opened his eyes to the issue of accessibility.
“In the classroom, when you hear numbers about health disparities, it can be hard to really visualize what that might mean,” Jin said. “Now there is a person in front of me telling their story, and I can see the impact of them not being able to see a dentist or afford treatments. I think, if you want to make changes on a broader scale to affect more people, public health knowledge is essential.”