Can the GP practice location affect the uptake of colorectal cancer screening?
Jelena Danilenko, Liga Virzina, Sigita Petrovska, Vija Silina
Keywords: colorectal cancer screening (CRS), IFOB test.
Background:
Colorectal cancer is the third most common oncology in Latvia. Finding colorectal cancer in the early stages provides the greatest chance for complete recovery. This study aimed to investigate whether there is a difference in colorectal cancer screening uptake in rural and urban general practitioner (GP) practices.
Research questions:
Can the GP practice location affect the uptake of colorectal cancer screening?
Method:
The study was conducted in two GP practices in Latvia – one in Madona town, and the second in - the rural area of Gulbene. An analysis of screening attendance was conducted based on data from administered, collected, and completed immunochemical fecal occult blood (I-FOBT) tests. Factors influencing I-FOBT performance (age, sex, and location) were compared. Microsoft Excel and IBM SPSS were used for statistical analysis.
Results:
All target group patients (n=633) aged 50-74 from both practices were included in the study (157 from urban settings and 476 from rural settings) and were offered the colorectal cancer screening test. Altogether 137 out of 633 patients (21,64%) collected the I-FOBT test (mean age 60,31(IQR=6,55); 56,20% women and 43,80% men), but only 87 (63,50%) of them (mean age 61,10 (IQR = 6,88); 54,02% women and 45,98% men) returned it completed. No association was found between the completed I-FOBT and patients' sex or age (p > 0.05). The number of returned i-FOBT was higher among patients of the urban practice(56 of 78 tests or 71,79%) than among those of the rural practice (31 of 59 tests or 52,54%) (p<0,05).
Conclusions:
Study results showed that the location of the GP’s practice might affect the uptake of the screening test, with urban practices showing better compliance compared to rural settings. However, there was no difference in compliance between patients' sex or age.
Points for discussion:
How to improve colorectal cancer coverage?
What other factors could affect CRS uptake?
#147