Advancing equitable preventative cancer screening on the Inova Saville mobile health bus

Purpose: The INOVA Saville Mobile Health Bus (SMHB), launched in January 2025, aims to expand access to breast and cervical cancer screenings and novel research trials among medically underserved communities in Northern Virginia. Using de-identified, aggregated data, this analysis assessed early program reach, identified race/ethnic and geographic gaps in utilization, and used these insights to improve equitable access to preventive care. Methods: Screening encounters from February 2025 through August 2025 were summarized by race/ethnicity, ZIP code, and screening type, and encounters were grouped into pre- and post-intervention periods to monitor changes over time. The SMHB catchment area includes five Northern Virginia jurisdictions; the City of Alexandria, Fairfax, Prince William, Loudoun, and Arlington Counties; covering more than 70 ZIP codes. To identify areas with potentially lower breast and cervical cancer screening uptake by race and ethnicity, we used publicly available racial/ethnic demographic data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Descriptive statistics and geographic information system (GIS) mapping were used to compare bus encounters to community race/ethnic distributions and highlight underserved ZIP codes. Those findings guided adjustments to routes and outreach efforts. Results: Hispanic/Latino individuals represented 30.5% of early screening encounters, exceeding county estimates (14.4%-24.3%). Several groups were underrepresented: Asian participants accounted for 5.8% of screenings despite representing 10.3%-20.6% of county populations, and Black/African American participation was 4.9% compared to county estimates (7.7%-21.5%). ZIP codes with limited engagement guided new partnerships with community organizations serving Black/African American and Asian residents. After these efforts, participation increased modestly among targeted groups. From January-August to September-mid-November, Black/African American participation increased from 5.9% to 6.6%. Asian participation increased from 8.7% to 13.6%. Hispanic/Latino participation remained stable (29.3% to 28.7%). Conclusions: This analysis during the early phase of the SMHB program enabled timely identification of outreach inequities and guided practical changes to improve equity in preventive cancer screening. Targeted partnerships with trusted community organizations, including groups serving Black/African American and Asian communities, contributed to early increases in engagement among these populations. These findings underscore the importance of grounding mobile health outreach in continuous quality improvement, community collaboration, and culturally responsive strategies. This approach offers a sustainable framework for building more inclusive and accessible mobile health services as the program continues to expand.