title: Rates of screening colonoscopy are not increased when women are offered a female endoscopist in a health promotion outreach program.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In surveys, almost 50% of women prefer a female endoscopist (FE) to perform their screening colonoscopies (SCOs).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether offering women an FE is associated with higher rates of SCOs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  University of Colorado Hospital primary care clinics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women of ages 50 to 69 years eligible for an SCO.
  
  
  METHODS
  SCO offers through mail and telephone outreach, with and without an explicit FE option.
  
  
  METHODS
  Outreach intervention differences in SCO completion rates and percentages of women requesting FE.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 396 women, 72 (18.2%) underwent SCO without difference by type of invitation. Women who received an FE invitation were more likely to request an FE than patients who received no invitation (44.2% and 4.8%, respectively, P < .001), but women who requested an FE were not more likely to undergo an SCO than those who did not.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SCO was offered through an outreach program rather than through in-clinic referrals. The study used a nonrandomized trial comparison group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women offered an FE were not more likely to undergo an SCO than those who were not. This study is unique in describing outcomes associated with actual offers of an FE at the time of scheduling. More direct evidence is needed to support the notion that the absence of FEs is an important barrier to colorectal cancer screening among women.
authors.affiliation: Quality and Safety, Harvard Vanguard/Atrius Health, Newton, Massachusetts 02466-2272, USA. tom_denberg@atriushealth.org
authors.forename: Thomas D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Denberg
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kraus
authors.forename: Alyssa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soenksen
authors.forename: Trina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mizrahi
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shields
authors.forename: Chen-Tan
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003113:Colonoscopy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003120:Colorado; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D057240:Patient Preference; D012737:Sex Factors