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Colonoscopy appointments came to a standstill between March and June of 2020, leading to significant challenges with scheduling with backlogged appointments and a regional hold on elective procedures.ย Endoscopists faced a much lower capacity for postponed procedures, and only patients showing symptoms were prioritized for appointments.

In this study, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention,ย a group of health practitioners at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center worked to overcome colorectal cancer screening barriers presented during the COVID-19 pandemic through a patient navigation initiative. The initiative involved partnerships with Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and primary care physicians (PCPs). They mainly conducted screening among underserved, low literacy populations in Western New York.

Throughout the pandemic, this team of patient navigators shifted to a hybrid schedule and worked at both the teamโ€™s cancer center and remotely at home. To continue screening among the patients who needed it most, navigators began widely disseminating stool-based tests for colorectal cancer screening. Tests were distributed to patients who were due for average-risk screening, and they prioritized appointments for patients with positive screening results.

Between April 2020 and March 2021, navigators offered screening education to 632 patients and screened 232 of them despite major pandemic challenges. In 2020, the teamโ€™s colorectal cancer screening rates remained over 50% despite the COVID-19 pandemic, exceeding national FQHC targets, and demonstrating the effectiveness of patient outreach combined with the availability of at-home stool-based testing.

Moving forward, at-home screening may be an effective tactic for increasing colorectal cancer screening rates among difficult-to-reach patient populations and patients facing significant barriers to accessing routine medical careย [1].

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Source:

[1] Glaser, K. M., Crabtree-Ide, C., McNulty, A., Gomez, E., Donofrio, N., Flores, T., & Reid, M. E. (2022). Abstract PO-253: Overcoming barriers to colorectal cancer screening for underserved patients: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic.ย Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. https://doi.org/10.1158/1538-7755.disp21-po-253