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Education improves colorectal cancer screening by flexible sigmoidoscopy in an inner city population
R Zubarik1, G Eisen, J Zubarik
1Department of Gastroenterology, Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.
Objective:
The District of Columbia General Hospital has a flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) colorectal cancer screening program. We noted that this program was underused. The aim of this study was to determine whether education could improve use of a flexible sigmoidoscopy screening program in an inner city population.
Methods:
Patients undergoing screening FS 5 months before our educational initiative were compared to patients undergoing screening FS 5 months after implementation. A 1-month period was allowed for implementation. Procedure logs and GI charts were reviewed.
Results:
A total of 121 patients underwent FS screening during our study period. Of the patients, 97% were African-American; 58% were female; and the average age was 61 yr. A total of 50 patients underwent FS in the pre-education group, and 71 patients underwent FS after implementation of our educational initiative.
Conclusions:
Education resulted in a 42% increase in FS screening in this inner city, predominantly African-American population. Larger scale educational initiatives should be conducted to determine whether these benefits can persist and can be improved upon.