BARRIERS TO CANCER SCREENING
Study to overcome testing barriers for bowel cancer
IT’S one of the nation’s deadliest diseases claiming 100 lives every week, but this will hopefully change thanks to a lifesaving initiative.
The University of Southern Queensland and Cancer Council Queensland are investigating barriers to Australians taking and returning their bowel cancer test kits.
Lead investigator and Cancer Council Queensland research team member Belinda Goodwin said the study aims to encourage the public to get tested and increase bowel cancer screening participation.
“We know that many barriers to screening participation exist, but up until now, we were unable to estimate the degree to which each barrier prevented people from completing and returning the test, and who was most likely to experience each barrier,” Dr Goodwin said.
“This data provides a more reliable way to identify and measure barriers to home bowel cancer screening, which will help design interventions that address poor screening rates in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program.”
Surveying more than 400 participants aged between 50 and 74-yearsold, USQ researchers asked respondents to indicate which of the 89 listed barriers may discourage them from taking a home bowel cancer test kit.
The results revealed 50.9% of those surveyed believed they were up to date with their bowel cancer screening through another method, 44.7% would forget and 37.7% failed to make plans.
While 27.5% said they were embarrassed about storing the sample in the fridge, 27.3% said they felt unpleasant collecting a stool sample and 25.2% of respondents were concerned about hygiene risks.
The four distinct barrier types identified include disgust, avoidance, lack of autonomy and physical difficulties.
“This four-factor measurement tool provides a useful framework to measure and address barriers to home bowel cancer screening going forward,” Dr Goodwin said.
“It could also be used to examine the potential effects of various intervention strategies on different barrier types.”