title: Automated phone and mail population outreach to promote colorectal cancer screening.
abstract: To evaluate a population outreach program to promote screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) among average-risk insured men and women.
  
  
  
  In 2008, 58,440 Kaiser Permanente Colorado members unscreened for CRC received an interactive voice response (IVR) call followed by mailed fecal immunochemical test (FIT), or colonoscopy if requested. We used a quasi-experimental design with staged implementation, in which a random subset of eligible members was selected each week to receive the intervention. This design allowed the entire group to ultimately receive the intervention.
  
  
  
  Survival models summarized time-specific comparisons of screening behaviors for members who received immediate outreach compared with those who had not yet received it.
  
  
  
  A total of 26,003 (45%) of the unscreened population completed screening, predominately due to the mailed kits. The unadjusted hazard ratio (HR) for the outreach effect on screening completion was 4.08 (95% confidence interval: 3.93-4.25) and adjusted HR was 3.75 (3.60-3.91). Lower levels of screening were seen in African Americans (HR 0.83; 0.77-0.90) and Hispanics (HR 0.84; 0.80-0.88) compared with whites, and in smokers (HR 0.77; 0.74-0.80) compared with nonsmokers. The outreach had greater impact among those without a primary care (HR 4.5 vs 3.0, P <.0001) or specialty care (HR 5.2 vs 3.5, P <.0001) visit compared with those with 1 or more visits.
  
  
  
  The rate of colorectal cancer screening in members after mailed FIT with IVR was almost 4 times higher than usual care, particularly in those without an office visit. Targeted approaches are needed for groups at risk for not screening.
authors: Clinical Prevention Services, Population Care and Prevention Services, Kaiser Permanente Colorado, Denver, CO, USA. karinkempe@comcast.net
authors: Karin L
authors: KL
authors: Kempe
authors: Susan M
authors: SM
authors: Shetterly
authors: Eric K
authors: EK
authors: France
authors: Theodore R
authors: TR
authors: Levin
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003120:Colorado; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration; D008875:Middle Aged; D009780:Occult Blood; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011177:Postal Service; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D017010:Reminder Systems; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013689:Telephone