Colorectal Cancer Screening Intervention in UWPN Clinics

University of Washington

Status: Completed

Conditions: Colorectal Neoplasia

Treatments: Behavioral: colorectal cancer screening intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT00161460

1R21CA107157 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

26840-J

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to determine if a prototype colorectal cancer screening program with the services of a cancer prevention specialist will increase utilization of appropriate colorectal cancer screening tests.

Full description

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Colorectal cancer screening is widely recommended, but generally under-utilized. Previous studies have shown that only a minority of people over the age of 50 are screened for colorectal cancer with either fecal occult blood testing or flexible sigmoidoscopy. Barriers to screening include patient and provider-related factors. An innovative program to support primary care providers in providing necessary education about colorectal cancer screening, to provide reminders when screening tests are due, and to facilitate requesting and follow-up of screening tests may help address some of these barriers to providing screening services.

In this proposal, we will develop and implement a primary care based-colorectal cancer screening program to supplement clinical services provided in a primary care practice network. This network uses an electronic medical record and has established referral patterns for gastrointestinal endoscopy services, radiology, and pathology. In the proposed screening program, we will develop a colorectal cancer screening module to supplement the existing electronic medical record. This module will enable providers to review risk factors for colorectal cancer, prior screening history, and need for future screening in one easily accessible location. The information provided by this module will be supplemented by the services of a cancer prevention specialist. This person will oversee enrollment of patients into the program, provide patient education about colorectal cancer screening, and facilitate ordering or referral for screening or follow-up tests.

Outcome measures will include utilization of screening rates, patient knowledge about screening tests, and provider acceptance of the program. If successful, this program may be useful to other large primary care practices, and may also help to improve utilization of other types of cancer prevention services.

Enrollment: 80 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 50+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Age 50 years and over, enrolled for medical care in the UWPN clinics

Exclusion criteria

• Primary care physicians feel they would not benefit from colorectal cancer screening, unwilling or unable to complete study procedures

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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80 participants in 2 patient groups

1

Active Comparator group

Description:

Study nurse contacts subjects who enroll in the intervention to provide detailed education about screening tests, to assess their risk for colorectal cancer, and to facilitate screening.

Treatment:

Behavioral: colorectal cancer screening intervention

2

No Intervention group

Description:

Patients who do not enroll receive usual care from their primary care providers.