Use your browser's BACK button to return to your page of origin.
Colorectal cancer screening participation by older women.
American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2000;19(3):149-154.
Mandelson MG, Curry SJ, Anderson LA, Nadel M, Lee N, Rutter C, LaCroix AZ.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Although recent screening guidelines recommend annual fecal occult
blood testing (FOBT) for adults aged > or = 50, a number of studies report
that these tests are underused. Systematic efforts to increase awareness
of colorectal cancer (CRC) and to promote screening participation are needed
to meet national objectives for CRC control. METHODS: This study examined
CRC-screening practices and evaluated factors related to recent participation
in screening by FOBT in a sample of women aged 50 to 80 who were surveyed
about their use of clinical preventive services at Group Health Cooperative,
a managed care organization in western Washington State. RESULTS: Of the
931 women eligible for analysis, 75% reported ever having been screened by
FOBT and 48% reported having been screened within 2 years before the survey.
Participation in screening did not vary by demographic characteristics or
by perceived or actual risk of CRC. Women with a positive attitudes toward
CRC screening had sevenfold greater odds of recent screening by FOBT (odds
ratio=7.1; 95% confidence interval, 4.4 to 11.6). Only 58% of study women
reported that their physicians encouraged CRC screening, but this factor
was strongly related to participation (odds ratio=12.7; 95% confidence interval,
6.6 to 24.4). CONCLUSIONS: We identified several areas in which understanding
of CRC risk may be low. As a whole, these findings suggest that effective
strategies to control CRC may include efforts to improve knowledge of risk
and prevention, but must also appeal directly to primary care physicians
to identify and address their barriers to screening recommendations.