Colorectal Cancer Screening Test Preferences by Sociodemographic Factors and Health Beliefs in Diverse Underserved Populations.
Age over 70 predicts preference for stool or blood tests over colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening
Colorectal Cancer Screening Test Preferences by Sociodemographic Factors and Health Beliefs in Diverse Underserved Populations.
Despite the availability of multiple screening options, rates of colorectal cancer (colorectal cancer) screening remain suboptimal.
Between October 2023 and June 2024, we conducted a survey on preferences for colorectal cancer screening modalities of stool test, blood test and colonoscopy among adults aged 45-75 at ambulatory primary care clinics across multiple community health centers and federally qualified healthcare centers across the city as well as in community settings regardless of prior screening.
Adults under 70 had higher odds of preferring colonoscopy versus older adults
A total of 1,014 individuals completed the survey.
Respondents were 12.8% Black/African American, 51.6% White, 23.4% Hispanic, 15.8% South Asian, and 4.2% Asian.
Overall, the highest test preference was for screening colonoscopy (45.5%) followed by blood test (29.9%).
Factors associated with preference for a stool test over other screening tests were: age over 80 years compared to respondents aged below 80 (OR 3.34, 95% CI 1.67-6.55, p < 0.001); respondents with college experience were more likely to prefer blood test compared to respondents without college experience (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.02-2.66, p = 0.048).
Colonoscopy was the preferred test option, followed by blood test. Preferences for screening test varied by age, race, ethnicity, education and prior screening.
The study underscores importance of patient preference in deciding which tests to offer based on the patient characteristics.
Nonsmokers, those without any college education and those without prior screening preferred blood test for screening.