Health belief assessment regarding screening colonoscopy

The purpose of this study was to assess (by questionnaire) health beliefs related to colorectal cancer screening via colonoscopy in a population 50 years of age and older. The Health Belief Model provided the theoretical framework for data collection. The study design was a nonexperimental exploratory survey. A total of 42 subjects (31% male, 69% female) completed a 14-item questionnaire that addressed psychological factors including health beliefs. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. Results of this study show there is a need for appropriate health education to trigger people to take preventive action such as colonoscopy. Community based health education programs should be designed to induce behavioral change by teaching the client the benefits of prevention and early detection of colorectal cancer, to which the client is susceptible. Future health education programs guided by this research will contribute to the reduction of highly preventable deaths from colorectal cancer while lowering the enormous cost of treating this condition.