title: Colorectal cancer screening in high-risk populations: a survey of cognition among medical professionals in Jiangsu, China.
abstract: To investigate the cognition of medical professionals when following screening guidelines for colorectal cancer (CRC) and barriers to CRC screening. Between February 2012 and December 2012, an anonymous survey with 19-questions based on several CRC screening guidelines was randomly administered to gastroenterologists, oncologists, general surgeons, and general practitioners in Jiangsu, a developed area in China where the incidence of CRC is relatively high. The average cognitive score was 26.4% among 924 respondents. Gastroenterologists and oncologists had higher scores compared with others (p<0.01 and p<0.01, respectively); doctor of medicine (M.D.) with or without doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) or holders with bachelor of medical science (BMS) achieved higher scores than other lower degree holders (P<0.05). More importantly, doctors who finished CRC related education in the past year achieved higher scores than the others (p<0.001). The most commonly listed barriers to referring high-risk patients for CRC screening were "anxiety about colonoscopy without anesthesia", "lack of awareness of the current guidelines" and "lack of insurance reimbursement. " Lack of cognition was detected among doctors when following CRC screening guidelines for high-risk populations. Educational programs should be recommended to improve their cognition and reduce barriers to CRC screening.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Yangzhou NO.1 People's Hospital, Yangzhou, China E-mail : huangxinen06@aliyun.com.
authors.forename: Yao-Sheng
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Song-Xin
authors.initials: SX
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Yan-Bing
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Xin-En
authors.initials: XE
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Xue-Feng
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Da-Cheng
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003071:Cognition; D003113:Colonoscopy; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009780:Occult Blood; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires