title: Screening colonoscopy bowel preparation: experience in an urban minority population.
abstract: METHODS
  Suboptimal bowel preparation, present in over 20% of colonoscopies, can severely compromise the effectiveness of the colonoscopy procedure. We surveyed 93 primarily urban minority men and women who underwent asymptomatic 'screening' colonoscopy regarding their precolonoscopy bowel-preparation experience.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Print materials alone (39.8%) and in-person verbal instructions alone (35.5%) were reportedly the most common modes of instruction from the gastroenterologists. Liquid-containing laxative (70.6%) was the most common laxative agent; a clear liquid diet (69.6%) the most common dietary restriction. Almost half of the participants mentioned 'getting the laxative down' as one of the hardest parts of the preparation; 40.9% mentioned dietary restrictions. The 24.7% who mentioned 'understanding the instructions' as one of the hardest parts were more likely to be non-US born and to have lower education and income. There was no relationship between difficulty in understanding instructions and mode of instruction or preparation protocol. One quarter suggested that a smaller volume and/or more palatable liquid would have made the preparation easier. Three quarters agreed that it would have been helpful to have someone to guide them through the preparation process.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest a variety of opportunities for both physician- and patient-directed educational interventions to promote higher rates of optimal colonoscopy bowel preparation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Wing 150, William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ 07470, USA.
authors.forename: Corey H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Basch
authors.forename: Charles E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Basch
authors.forename: Randi L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zybert
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lebwohl
authors.forename: Celia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shmukler
authors.forename: Alfred I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Neugut
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shea
keywords: Colorectal cancer screening; bowel preparation; colonoscopy