A Proximity Care Paradigm for Cancer Screening with a Mobile Multi-Screening Unit in Inner Areas

This paper addresses the challenges associated with the cancer screening program in the “Valle del Serchio, Lucca” health district, a mountainous inner area in Tuscany, Italy. With a population characterized by high cancer mortality rates and low screening adherence, a novel approach to screening administration is introduced, which advocates for minimizing travel distances for citizens while maximizing screening participation through the deployment of a mobile multi-screening unit. The mobile unit combines breast, cervical, colorectal, and melanoma screening procedures, providing a unified and accessible point of access for residents. In this paper, the authors contribute to the existing literature by presenting the innovative design and technical data management solutions implemented for the mobile multi-screening unit, emphasizing its adaptability to several geographical and infrastructural requirements. The mobile unit was tested in five municipalities of the investigated area, i.e. inner areas of Lucca province, Italy. Results from the first implementation phase, with over 500 individuals participating, demonstrated the success in delivering cancer screenings, hence highlighting the effectiveness of the proposed unprecedented design of the mobile unit. The interdisciplinary collaboration between healthcare professionals, engineers, designers, IT specialists, and healthcare managers was crucial for the mobile unit’s design, training, and adaptation to unforeseen challenges. Finally, showing in this paper the design of the mobile multi-screening unit and the preliminary results of the pilot study, future work will focus on refining and optimizing the proposed screening paradigm based on implementation insights, ensuring its sustained success and scalability in diverse geographical areas.