Efforts of coalition increased screening colonoscopy from 42 percent in 2003 to almost 70 percent in 2014
MONDAY, Nov. 23, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A citywide colon cancer control coalition can increase colorectal cancer screening and address health disparities, according to a report published online Nov. 23 in Cancer.
Steven H. Itzkowitz, M.D., from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, and colleagues describe the efforts of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to increase colorectal cancer screening rates and ensure equal access with respect to race/ethnicity. A coalition of stakeholders was formed in 2003, with its primary focus on developing and implementing strategies across the city to increase colonoscopy rates. Strategies to achieve the goals included an effort to engage all sectors in awareness of the importance of prevention and early detection through screening.
The researchers found that the concerted efforts contributed to an increase in the screening colonoscopy rate from 42 percent in 2003 to 62 percent in 2007, and to almost 70 percent in 2014. In addition, racial and ethnic disparities were eliminated.
“This article provides details of how this program was successfully conceived, implemented, and sustained in the large urban population of New York City,” the authors write. “The authors hope that by sharing the many elements involved and the lessons learned, they may help other communities to adapt these experiences to their own environments so that colorectal cancer screening rates can be maximized.”
Several authors disclosed financial ties to medical device industry.
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