Racial Minorities Are More Likely Than Whites to Report Lack of Provider Recommendation for Colon Cancer Screening (American Journal of Gastroenterology)

Although screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) is recommended for all adults aged 50 to 75 years in the United States, there are racial and ethnic disparities in who receives screening. Individuals lacking appropriate CRC screening cite various reasons for nonadherence, including lack of provider recommendation for screening.

Authors conducted a cross-sectional observational study of individuals aged 50 to 75 years from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey who reported nonadherence to 2008 United States Preventive Service Task Force CRC screening guidelines. The outcome was self-report that the main reason for not undergoing CRC screening was lack of a physician recommendation ("non-recommendation") for screening.

Of 5,793 unscreened subjects, 19.1 percent reported that lack of a provider recommendation was the main reason for CRC nonscreening. African Americans and English-speaking Asians were more likely than whites to report physician non-recommendation as the main reason for lack of screening. Asian non-English speakers, however, were less likely to report physician non-recommendation.  

Publication Authors:

• Folasade P. May
• Christopher V. Almario
• Ninez A. Ponce, PhD, MPP
• Brennan Spiegel