When doctors give older adults personalized information about the benefits and harms of colorectal cancer screening, it can help to ensure that people who need the screening most receive it. It also can decrease the amount of screening orders for those who will benefit least, a new study finds. The research was published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Researchers conducted a two-group trial from 2015 to 2019 at two United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities, one academic VA medical center and one of its outpatient clinics. As part of the study, the researchers looked at data from 431 US veterans between 70 and 75 years old. The researchers evaluated data from 2018 to this year. Data from the participants was evaluated across 67 primary care doctors. The mean age of the people was 71.5 years old, 98.4% were male and 81.4% had previous colorectal cancer screenings.
One group of 258 people visited their primary care doctors and received a booklet with detailed information on screening benefits and harms. The booklet was personalized for each participant based on age, sex, prior screening and comorbidity. In the control group, 173 people received a simple screening informational booklet. The researchers examined data to see if doctors ordered screening within two weeks of the people going for their visits.
Doctors ordered screenings for 62.8% of the people in the intervention group compared to 65.9% of people in the control group. The proportion of people who would benefit the least from a screening was lower in the intervention group than in the control group. Of those who would benefit most from a screening, the number of those receiving screening orders in the intervention group was higher compared to the control group.
Fewer people in the intervention group used screening at 6 months after their initial visit compared to those in the control group. Those who got the detailed information on screening and were less likely to benefit were less likely to utilize screening.
