title: A colorectal cancer screening program in an underserved, ethnically diverse population in Chicago, IL.
abstract: The purpose of this project was to describe the structure and outcomes of a colorectal cancer screening program at CommunityHealth, the largest free health clinic in Illinois. We conducted a retrospective observational study using administrative clinical data from 2006 to 2011. A total of 4,026 patients were eligible for colorectal cancer screening of which 2,418 (60.0 %) completed fecal occult blood testing (FOBT). Subsequently, 1,657 patients had negative FOBT results and 1,365 patients underwent on-site flexible sigmoidoscopy. Over 90 % of patients had never had a prior screening examination. A majority of patients were female (61.7 %) and self-identified as Mexican (37.5 %) or Polish (28.2 %). A total of 203 biopsies were performed resulting in the detection of 69 adenomas (5.0 %) and 1 adenocarcinoma (0.1 %). A comprehensive colorectal cancer screening program was successfully implemented in a large community health center serving a population of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds without prior access to screening. This program could serve as model for colorectal cancer screening in diverse, low resource communities.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 750 N Lakeshore Dr. 10th Floor, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. agawron@fsm.northwestern.edu
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Gawron
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Angela J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Fought
authors.forename: Babs H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Waldman
authors.forename: Neehar D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Parikh
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis; D000236:Adenoma / Q000175:diagnosis; D002641:Chicago / Q000453:epidemiology; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D008875:Middle Aged; D009780:Occult Blood; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012812:Sigmoidoscopy