Education Improves Colorectal Cancer Screening by Flexible Sigmoidoscopy in An Inner City Population

OBJECTIVE: The District of Columbia General Hospital has a flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) colorectal cancer screening program. We noted that this program was underused. The aim of this study was to determine whether education could improve use of a flexible sigmoidoscopy screening program in an inner city population. METHODS: Patients undergoing screening FS 5 months before our educational initiative were compared to patients undergoing screening FS 5 months after implementation. A 1-month period was allowed for implementation. Procedure logs and GI charts were reviewed. RESULTS: A total of 121 patients underwent FS screening during our study period. Of the patients, 97% were African-American; 58% were female; and the average age was 61 yr. A total of 50 patients underwent FS in the pre-education group, and 71 patients underwent FS after implementation of our educational initiative. CONCLUSIONS: Education resulted in a 42% increase in FS screening in this inner city, predominantly African-American population. Larger scale educational initiatives should be conducted to determine whether these benefits can persist and can be improved upon.