Colorectal Cancer Screening Beyond Primary Care: A Community-Based FIT Distribution Model Serving a Safety-Net Hospital Population.
Community-distributed fecal immunochemical tests were positive in 16.4% of results returned.
Colorectal Cancer Screening Beyond Primary Care: A Community-Based FIT Distribution Model Serving a Safety-Net Hospital Population.
Colorectal cancer (colorectal cancer) remains the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States, with screening disparities disproportionately affecting socioeconomically disadvantaged and underrepresented populations.
To describe the implementation, feasibility, screening outcomes, follow-up colonoscopy completion, and exploratory financial considerations of the ACCESS initiative at Temple University Hospital (Temple University Hospital).
ACCESS distributed fecal immunochemical testing in non-traditional, high-traffic community settings to average-risk individuals aged 45-75 years, consistent with United States Preventive Services Task Force (United States Preventive Services Task Force) guidelines.
about 1 in 6 tests came back positive, prompting a follow-up colonoscopy
Among 799 fecal immunochemical testing distributed, 293 results were reported, yielding a response rate of 36.7%.
Among men, positivity was 41.4% in those without a recent primary care visit compared with 16.0% in those with a recent visit (p = 0.056).
Follow-up colonoscopy was completed at Temple University Hospital in 29.2% of positive fecal immunochemical testing cases, while follow-up outside Temple Health may not have been fully captured.
ACCESS demonstrates the feasibility of community-based fecal immunochemical testing outreach outside traditional primary care pathways and provides insight into screening outcomes, follow-up challenges, and financial considerations within an urban safety-net health system.