title: Inequalities in participation in an organized national colorectal cancer screening programme: results from the first 2.6 million invitations in England.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  An organized, population-based, colorectal cancer screening programme was initiated in England in 2006 offering biennial faecal occult blood testing (FOBT) to adults aged 60-69 years. Organized screening programmes with no associated financial costs to the individual should minimize barriers to access for lower socio-economic status (SES) groups. However, SES differences in uptake were observed in the pilot centres of the UK programme, so the aim of this analysis was to identify the extent of inequalities in uptake by SES, ethnic diversity, gender and age in the first 28 months of the programme. Design Cross-sectional analysis of colorectal cancer screening uptake data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between October 2006 and January 2009, over 2.6 million adults aged 60-69 years were mailed a first FOBT kit by the five regional screening hubs. Uptake was defined as return of a test kit within 13 weeks. We used multivariate generalized linear regression to examine variation by area-based socioeconomic deprivation, area-based ethnicity, gender and age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Uptake was 54%, but showed a gradient across quintiles of deprivation, ranging from 35% in the most deprived quintile to 61% in the least deprived. Multivariate analyses confirmed an independent effect of deprivation, with stronger effects in women and older people. The most ethnically diverse areas also had lower uptake (38%) than other areas (52-58%) independent of SES, age, gender and regional screening hub. Ethnic disparities were more pronounced in men but equivalent across age groups. More women than men returned a kit (56 vs 51%), but there was also an interaction with age, with uptake increasing with age in men (49% at 60-64 years; 53% at 65-69 years) but not women (57 vs 56%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall uptake rates in this organized screening programme were encouraging, but nonetheless there was low uptake in the most ethnically diverse areas and a striking gradient by SES. Action to promote equality of uptake is needed to avoid widening inequalities in cancer mortality.
authors.affiliation: Health Behaviour Research Centre, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, Greater London, UK. c.wagner@ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: von Wagner
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Baio
authors.forename: Rosalind
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raine
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Snowball
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Atkin
authors.forename: Austin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Obichere
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Handley
authors.forename: Richard F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Logan
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rainbow
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Halloran
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wardle
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009780:Occult Blood; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D015397:Program Evaluation; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors; D006113:United Kingdom